DON’T TALK NONSENSE!

TREVOR BAYLISS rubbished claims England players verbally assaulted Australia captain Steve Smith in the second Test.

The England coach, speaking after his bowlers were put to the sword on the second day, insisted his players were guilty of nothing more than “red-blooded competition” after several clashes with Smith.

But Bayliss admitted he would like to see both a reduction in sledging on the field and the removal of stump mics.

“I am not happy with it and that goes for both sides,” he said. “But it’s just the way the game is these days.

“I would like to see the microphones turned down, though, as I don’t think that’s necessarily a [good] thing for young kids watching.”

England were furious after Smith, David Warner and Peter Handscomb got stuck into Jonny Bairstow in the middle of the first Test in Brisbane.

Tensions

Their verbal barrage came after a late-night incident in Perth when Bairstow allegedly headbutted Aussie opener Cameron Bancroft, and the conversations were picked up by the media via the stump mic.

Tensions had been simmering all week and boiled over on the first day here, with Smith being dragged into confrontations with Stuart Broad and Jimmy Anderson.

Broad was then guilty on day two of giving Handscomb an ‘in-your-face’ send-off after getting his wicket in the first over of the day.

Bayliss added: “I don’t think anyone has to listen to what is being said, but it is grown men playing a very competitive sport and sometimes those emotions boil over.

“They are red-blooded young males competing against each other and most of the time it’s fairly light-hearted.

“But sometimes there’s a lot more made of it in the media than what happens out in the field.”

While England’s mind games against Smith may have contributed to the Australia captain’s relatively cheap