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Australia have tried to drag England into a psychological war over the past month. Their efforts have now elicited some generous overreactions from their Ashes foes, just as the hosts would have hoped.
Australia hadn’t previously done much tough talking in the media during the reign of Steve Smith. They had also been noticeably less chirpy on the pitch, overall, since the retirements in quick succession of noted sledgers Brad Haddin, Michael Clarke and Mitch Johnson.
Even their attack dog David Warner had reined in his behaviour greatly over the past two years. In that time the Australians have been fairly docile on and off the field, certainly in comparison to previous eras when vicious sledging and media mind games ran rampant.
Which is why their campaign to ruffle the feathers of the English players has been so blatant this month. Even spinner Nathan Lyon, never known as a sledger in his six years in international cricket, went hard at England, suggesting he’d be happy for a few English careers to be ended this summer.
Lyon’s comments, which were delivered with a cheeky grin rather than an emotionless Terminator glare, prompted hysterical reactions from past England players and sections of the country’s press, who suggested the England team were incensed by the statement.
(Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)
Matt Prior, who was part of the English side whitewashed on their last Ashes tour, said Lyon had “embarrassed” himself, while former England captain Michael Vaughan labelled Lyon’s comments “pathetic” and “shite”.
Despite English journalists suggesting the England team would be privately fuming about Lyon’s jibes, Alastair Cook laughed them off. He told the media such trash talk “just makes me chuckle”.
England, quite clearly, were making a concerted effort not to take the Australian bait, to avoid engaging in a war of words. Even their renowned hot head quick James Anderson wrote in his column for the Daily Telegraph, published the day before the first Test, that he and his teammates would not react to Australia’s on or off field sledging.
Anderson’s will power must be pretty weak because, in his very next column published yesterday, he gave Australia exactly the response they wanted
In an article headlined ‘Australian bullies are taking the Mickey’, Anderson said he was infuriated by the behaviour of his opponents this past week. He wrote they were bullies who only sledged when in the ascendancy.
According to a BBC report, Anderson also complained to the umpires that Australia’s quicks were bowling too many bouncers to the England tail at Brisbane.
Almost the entire Anderson column was dedicated to grumbling about the Australians. He even went so far as to posit a random conspiracy theory regarding Jonny Bairstow’s bizarre headbutt of Cameron Bancroft.
That incident in a bar in Perth was reported by media after being picked up by the stump microphones when the Australians used the incident to sledge Bairstow.
Anderson described this as “a deliberate ploy to say things close to the stump mics so it would be picked up by the media”. Of course, the Australians could have just told the media directly had they wished to whip up a controversy. But in Anderson’s mind it was more likely they hatched an odd plan to mention the incident on-field in the hope the media would hear it via the stump microphones and then report on it.
The fact he seems to believe this is strong evidence Australia have riled him and got into his head, just as they aimed to do. In the middle of his column complaining bitterly about the behaviour of the Australians Anderson, quite ironically, writes: “We are not interested in getting involved in any verbal battle or slanging match with them”.
(AAP Image/Darren England)
The horse has bolted Jimmy. So much so that even his genial captain Joe Root, one of the most mild-mannered chaps in the game, bit back at the Australians yesterday. Root had patently attempted to ignore them up to this point, but couldn’t help himself as he implied the hosts were acting in a way that his team never would.
“I think their line (in the sand) and our line are slightly different things, let’s leave it at that,” Root told the media.
He also made it clear he was offended by Australian captain Steve Smith’s giggling during Bancroft’s quirky and humorous interview about the headbutt incident.
“To see a reaction like that in a press conference is, I mean if that can’t get you up for the next game, then I don’t know what can,” Root said. “If that’s not motivation to the players, I don’t know what is.”
Australia will be delighted by the reactions of Root and Anderson, arguably England’s two most important players in this series. Had Australia’s recent antics been disregarded by England the hosts would have been left looking mighty silly.
Instead, after refusing for weeks to be drawn into a fight, England have entered the ring, just at the moment when all their focus should elsewhere following their 10-wicket loss at Brisbane.
Except that England have only one foot in the field of psychological battle. They either should have blanked Australia completely or fought fire with fire, baiting the hosts and highlighting their many weaknesses. Instead England have responded only to whinge about the bullies and loud mouths from Down Under.
In doing so, they have handed Australia a win, of sorts, in this round of a comical psychological war. Perhaps the next round will feature a dynamic cameo by England’s chief antagonist Ben Stokes.