Over the last couple of days Mitchell Johnson and Peter Siddle have both been happy to say that the sledging is going to continue in this Ashes series. While Aussie chief Darren Lehmann has also seemingly refused an offer from Andy Flower for peace talks.
Without showing bias, it seems fairly silly to start mouthing off just because you have won one Test match. If at the end of the series, Australia have won 4 or 5-0, then I could understand them telling the English what they think of them….. but for the moment, is it really worth it?
Personally I’m not too fused about a bit of on-field chatter. I have no problem with the old barbs like the reason why the bat is in your hand, is so you can hit the ball, cricketing banter, etc.
In 2005 I remember hearing on a cricket mic, Shane Warne greeting Andrew Strauss to the wicket with a ‘Good Morning, Andrew,’ before asking Strauss if he thought he was going to be able to pick him that day.
Another great example of cricket chatter, was Flintoff’s ‘mind the windows Tino,’ line to Tino Best, the ball before he was stupidly stumped.
That’s fine in my eyes, that’s cricket banter/sledging, the sort of which I don’t have a problem with.
What I have an issue with is stupid stuff. Stupid stuff like Anderson apparently threatening to hit Bailey (although I do wonder what prompted Anderson to say that), or Clarke’s rubbish about a broken arm.
We had similar childish remarks a few years when Matt Prior is supposed to have asked Zaheer Khan about what car he drives. How stupid does that look now? I shouldn’t think too many Indian internationals drive lesser cars than Prior these days.
That’s all just garbage, and in my view makes these guys look like school ground kids.
If that’s what these lot call tough cricket, then I wonder what they would have made of facing the West Indies quicks 30 years ago?
It was interesting to see even Ian Chappell come out and say this is all heading for fisticuffs, as it’s getting too personal. Even he sounds like he thinks it’s all stupid.
Speaking of stupid, and we have David Warner. Obviously he didn’t realise the situation with Jonathan Trott. But when your Test record isn’t a patch on Trott’s, don’t come out and say what Warner said. All Warner is doing is setting himself up for an even bigger fall.
According to Tim Abraham’s of Sky Sports, the Aussie team media guy was fuming with Warner, as he ends up with the job of trying to explain why Warner said what he did, and it also looks like he can’t do his job, as it’s his job to try and make sure the players say the right things.
All in all, it’s been a pretty unedifying series so far. Personally I hope that they pipe down a bit, grow up a lot, and concentrate on playing cricket instead.