Ashes 2017: Australians have gone too far with sledging, says Matt Prior

Sledging won't affect senior players, says Prior.

Root and Cook have been the sledging targets of the Australian cricket team. (Getty)

Former England wicketkeeper Matt Prior has said that Australian have gone way too far and has eventually crossed the line as far as sledging in this Ashes series is concerned. In a chat with BBC Radio, Prior said that there was a certain issue over which there has been a lot of chatter on the pitch but refused to divulge what the issue itself was.

“There’s a lot that’s gone on that I think the England players are quite upset about – and rightfully from what I’ve heard,” he said, “There’s been a lot of chat on the pitch that hasn’t got anything to do with cricket and frankly shouldn’t be on a cricket pitch – stuff that hasn’t come out, for various reasons.”

See More: Woakes hopeful of  an England victory at Adelaide 

Prior, who played 79 Tests for England before retiring in 2014 said that ordinary sledging would not work on experienced players like former England captain and opener Alastair Cook.

“Simple sledging doesn’t really work on these top international players. Alastair Cook is not going to be affected by sledging, Steve Smith, Warner – these guys have seen it, they’ve done it,” said Prior, “So therefore you have to go deeper if you want to try and get a reaction and say something that’s going to be pretty fiery and potentially personal”  said  Prior.

See More: Alex Hales eligible for Ashes selection 

The second Test match at Adelaide is currently evenly poised with England needing 354 to win. England still need over 200 runs to win with skipper Joe Root still batting. All hopes of an England victory now rests on how  Root shoulders the responsibility of scoring the runs with his lower order.

 
 

By Anshuman Roy - 05 Dec, 2017

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