‘If they’re having a go at you, it’s because you’re good’

Rightly or wrongly, back when I was playing, the mentality was to just get on with it if you were abused and pay no attention to what was being said.

I had a philosophy that the major reason crowds targeted players from the opposition was that they wanted to put them off their game.

And the reason they wanted to do that was because they thought that player was good.

That attitude helped me when crowds outside Australia heckled me in an attempt to put me off my game. I also believed that performing well silenced the crowd, something Shane Warne was able to do repeatedly in England, where he was sledged mercilessly. Mitch Johnson has admitted he struggled.

Everyone is human, and what is said can affect people on some days more than other days.

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The reality is, however, that you can’t impose a blanket rule about banter because you can get a laugh out of some comments, whether you are in the crowd or playing. Such moments are great memories of time spent watching or playing cricket.

In Birmingham late on the first day of the first Test in 2019, Australia were nine wickets down and an Australian in the crowd started yelling at England’s opening batsman Jason Roy, who was fielding on the boundary nervously awaiting the moment he would have to walk out to bat just before stumps.

“Hey Roy, who is your nightwatchman?” the spectator yelled once he had Roy’s attention.

The whole crowd cracked up.

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That sort of stuff, because it’s not personal, because it is about the game, you can have a laugh about, but there are some things that are said where you think: “No, that is off limits.”

In South Africa in 1994, I responded to abuse and was fined. When I do sports nights I often cite that incident as a big regret … the regret being that I didn’t hit that bloke (don’t worry, it’s a joke).

Clearly I did the wrong thing, but the incident shows that abuse can get under anyone’s skin, even mine.

The effect of crowds can be real – positively and negatively. Now that I’m in the crowd, I think it comes down to common sense. Have a think about what you are doing and saying.