Australia skipper Steve Smith described England’s James Anderson as “one of the biggest sledgers in the game” as the heat rose off-field at the Adelaide Oval on the eve of the second Test.
English team clarified that they are dissatisfied with the comments aimed at Jonny Bairstow during their second innings in the 10-wicket defeat in the first Test in Brisbane last week that gave the Aussies a 1-0 lead in the five-match series.
Anderson compared the tactics of the hosts to bullying in a column in a British newspaper but an amused Smith told reporters that Anderson was among the worst offenders when it came to doling out insults in public.
Talking to reporters on Friday, Smith said, “I read the article, and it’s interesting coming from Jimmy, calling us bullies and big sledgers. I think he’s one of the biggest sledgers in the game, to be perfectly honest with you. To me in particular, I remember back in 2010 when I first started and wasn’t any good, he was pretty happy to get stuck into me then. Pretty interesting coming from Jimmy.”
In Brisbane last week, Anderson managed two scalps at the cost of 77 runs while Smith put together match-turning innings of 141 not out. Earlier, Anderson, who also complained to the umpire about Australian short bowling at England tail-enders in Brisbane, said the sledging from the home team had been “infuriating”.
In his column for Daily Telegraph, Anderson wrote, “A bully waits until they are in the ascendancy to pounce on people. That is what Australian teams do. They are quiet when they are not on top which was the case for the first three days of the Brisbane test and then on day four they came alive. It is down to us to cope with that and deal with it.”
He further added, “There’s a line there that we’re not to cross and I thought we played in good spirits. I think the umpires and the match referees are there to determine that. From my point of view it’s about playing good, hard cricket and I think we did that at the Gabba and I think we’ll continue to do that throughout the series.”
