A Woman Hung Out To Dry !

Sledging has been part of the game of Cricket since that famous game in 1882 when Australia played England on their home soil - and beat them soundly. An anguished British newspaper - the Sporting Times - declared that " English cricket had died ".   The bails and stumps from that game were ceremoniously burned and ever since their ashes in  a jar have been the trophy of cricket played between these two countries.

Good natured sledging is traditionally comment on the ground with the hope it may unsettle a batsman and cause him to make a mistake.  Unfortunately, in this current series between Australia and South Africa it has taken on a more sinister role.  The aim has been to unsettle the Australian vice captain, David Warner by making insidious references to his wife, Candice.   This led to a near punch-up at the conclusion of the first test.

Over the years, the men who are sporting cricket heroes in many countries have gained notoriety for affairs with women.  Much of this has featured in the media, to the displeasure of their wives or girl friends left at home.   A cricket tour has become a conduit for almost unlimited booze and the availability of female spectators willing to share the limelight with their male heroes.   All that is taken with a nod and a wink as a reward for gaining that baggy green cap.

The slur that has enraged David Warner has been reference made to his wife's encounter with a football player in 2007, years before they met and later married.   At that time it received wide media coverage and this has led to hundreds of spectators arriving at the ground for the second test wearing face masks depicting that football player.   It seems that South African cricket officials are actually encouraging denigrating the wife of an opposing vice captain.

The women's movement has been furiously exposing men in positions of power using that power to coerce women under their control to agree to sex.  This medias spotlight has swept through movie studios and famous firms and seen offenders named and shamed - and often dismissed from positions of authority.   It seems that the day of men trading sex for leading movie roles or promotion along the seniority chain are over.

It seems strange that this same women's movement is silent on the treatment being meted out to Candice Warner.   This is supposed to be the age of sexual equality.   A young, unmarried woman is allowed to bestow her sexual favours where she wishes.  Is it equality to dredge up something that happened years before her marriage to embarrass her husband ?

Despite these claims of equality it is very obvious that there is a wide divide when it comes to sex.  A man was is sexually active and successful with a lot of women is regarded as a " stud ": a woman who is similarly sexually active is regarded as a " slut " !

Once - a long time ago - there was an unwritten convention that marriage drew a line under youthful indiscretions.  It is more than surprising that a casually insulting remark from one South African player has been seized on by the media and amplified to the point that it has become world headlines. It is equally significant that the women's movement has chosen to remain silent !