Waikato Times

Warner: Let’s sledge again, like we did last summer

- CHRIS BARRETT

David Warner believes the Ashes should be officiated similarly to rugby league’s State of Origin, with leeway given for Australia and England to ramp up the on-field banter to add to the intensity of the contest.

The test vice-captain has signalled a return to a role as an agitating force for Steve Smith’s team nearly three years after he decided to button his lips following a spat with India’s Rohit Sharma in Melbourne.

Warner said he had enjoyed the spicy series against India on the subcontine­nt in the autumn and had England in his sights almost five weeks out from the test summer.

‘‘That little stuff is sort of slowly being taken out of the game. I love it as a batsman,’’ Warner said this week at the launch of the Asics playing shirts for Australian teams this summer.

‘‘If a bowler bowls a bouncer or I play and miss, and he looks at me – and not swears at me – but gives me a little bit of an earful or something then it gets you going. It’s exciting ... people want to see that.

‘‘That is missing a little bit from the game now. Obviously we can’t overstep the mark, but we just have to be cautious because sometimes the ICC and umpires take action over little things you do on the field.

‘‘I would like to see it like State of Origin. Let things just flow on and you deal with everything afterwards. Let a couple of penalties go and get on with it that way.’’

The match officials in the AustraliaI­ndia series this year appeared not to be opposed to that approach as a succession of verbal clashes on and off the ground went by without players being charged.

The hostilitie­s ramped up after Australia won the first test, with Mitchell Starc reacting by appearing to tell India’s Karun Nair to ‘‘f... off’’ after getting him out and Virat Kohli claiming that Australia had systematic­ally cheated after Smith was caught looking towards the dressing-room balcony as he decided whether to review his dismissal. No-one was booked, and despite more flare-ups during the rest of the memorable series, that remained the case throughout.

The flashpoint of the last Ashes here came when Australian captain Michael Clarke was fined after a stump

"If a bowler bowls a bouncer or I play and miss ... gives me a little bit of an earful or something then it gets you going. It's exciting ... people want to see that."

David Warner

microphone picked him up telling Jimmy Anderson to ‘‘get ready for a broken f ...... arm’’ at the Gabba.

Warner was also in the thick of it in Brisbane four years ago, saying England’s batsmen looked like they had ‘‘scared eyes’’.

Australia’s appointed attack dog in the field of years gone by has backed off in the past three years, tired of running into strife. The turning point was his run-in with Sharma in January 2015, when he was criticised for mouthing the words ‘‘speak English’’ to the Indian batsmen as they exchanged barbs during a one-day internatio­nal at the MCG.

‘‘I felt I had a valid point there,’’ Warner said. ‘‘I just clearly wanted him to swear at me in English so everyone else could hear what he was saying.’’

While he has forecast resumption of aggression in the Ashes he intends to choose his words and battles more carefully this time.

‘‘I know every time I open my mouth I get a point deducted or I get a fine of some sort, whether I’ve oversteppe­d the line or not,’’ Warner said.’’So from where I stand, it’s going to have to be very, very subtle.’’

 ?? PHOTO: REUTERS ?? David Warner, pictured arguing with Rohit Sharma, wants the players to be given extra leeway in the Ashes.
PHOTO: REUTERS David Warner, pictured arguing with Rohit Sharma, wants the players to be given extra leeway in the Ashes.

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