Forget the sledge, you are taking a hammering
England must forget about the sledging and redirect their energies to playing cricket if they’re to save the Ashes.
That’s the opinion of several retired Australian test cricketers, who believe the chatter out on the field this summer has been no different to what’s gone before in more than a century of cricket between the great foes.
There have been no official complaints made to the International Cricket Council, despite much discussion so far this series focusing on whether or not the sledging has become too personal.
England believe Australia took things too far in the opening test at the Gabba. Then, in Adelaide, there appeared to be plenty of discussion between Australian captain Steve Smith and the English bowlers.
At one stage, umpire Aleem Dar stood between Smith, at the nonstriker’s end, and Jimmy Anderson when one of their discussions became particularly robust.
‘‘It’s been around for 100 years,’’ former Australian quick Craig McDermott said. ‘‘You don’t want to get personal, that’s for sure, but there’s always words said and that’s part and parcel of it.
‘‘That’s what they said last time when they got flogged 5-0 out here. We didn’t cry poor when we got beaten in England, did we? I think they need to just concentrate on playing cricket.
‘‘It wasn’t a very quiet field when you played against blokes like Ian Botham and people like that. There was always plenty said in that particular era.’’
Cricket Australia chief James Sutherland played down the perceived sledging during the Adelaide test as ‘‘banter’’ and CA feel the umpires are doing their job in managing the players.
‘‘We do recognise that international cricket is a high-stakes, competitive environment and onfield banter is as old as the game itself,’’ a CA spokesperson said. ‘‘All players are reminded regularly that they have a responsibility to manage their on-field emotions, even in the most pressured situations.’’
When England beat Australia in 2015, their players were only too Coach Trevor Bayliss has had a gutsful of England’s Ashes campaign being derailed by alcohol-fuelled incidents, calling on embarrassed players to pull their heads in after Ben Duckett was stood down.
England, down 2-0 in the Ashes and already widely tipped to be on track for another whitewash, couldn’t navigate a single night after their midnight Ashes curfew was temporarily lifted on Thursday.
Duckett, who was convicted of drink-driving in 2015, poured a drink over the head of a senior test player following a heated argument at a Perth bar. Early reports suggested he was rowing with Jimmy Anderson.
Bayliss described it as a case of boys being boys but added ‘‘it doesn’t matter how trivial it is’’.
‘‘Everybody has been warned about how even small things can be blown out of all proportion,’’ he said, noting he was disappointed and fed up. quick to remind the visitors that their Ashes campaign was falling into a state of disrepair.
‘‘If the English are going to complain about it, they probably should look internal to see who their main culprits are as well,’’ retired allrounder Shane Watson said. ‘‘When things are flying for them, they’re always very happy to continue to dish it out.
‘‘It’s part of the game and part of an Ashes series, it’s high stakes out in the middle, not just the players, but the support staff around, the administrators, the fans, everything, there’s a lot on the line.
‘‘I’ve loved seeing Steve Smith stand up to a few of those senior guys in particular, Jimmy Anderson, because he’s a leader of the team and he’s got to make sure he stands strong for himself and for his team around him.
‘‘The players know where the line is. They’re going to push the line of course, but I’d be extremely surprised if it boiled over.’’