England to steer clear of Ashes sledging
England wicketkeeper batsman Matt Prior has told reporters the Ashes holders won’t instigate any sledging against Australia as they seek to retain their hold on the coveted urn.
"I don't think sledging will be something we're going to go into any Test match looking to do,” Prior said. “It’s not something that we concentrate on, it’s not something that we will focus on at all.”
“We’ll focus on putting the ball in the right area, building an intensity through our skills, through fielding well, through taking our catches, through creating a natural energy by buzzing around. I don’t think we need to say too much or get into a war with words with anyone.”
While the current England squad are hoping their actions will speak louder than words as they attempt to become the first England side to win the Ashes down under since 1986/87, former skipper Michael Vaughan has had plenty to say in the build up to the series.
Vaughan, who captained England to their drought-breaking Ashes win on home soil in 2005, has in recent days been busy Australia-baiting on his Twitter account.
“This winter [the Ashes against Australia] is looking like a good warm up for next summer when we will play the No1 team http://www.senore.com/Cricket/India-c750...should tell us where we are at...” Vaughan tweeted over the weekend.
That dig saw Shane Warne wade in, with the spin legend tweeting on his account, “Just a note on the ashes... I think it will be a very good series and extremely close, save the bravado till it actually starts! Hahaha”.
But while the banter continues between past Ashes combatants in the background, England are hard at work preparing for the job at hand, and the Barmy Army and their fellow England fans will be pleased to note that after Graeme Swann received a blow to the thumb on his bowling hand in the team’s first net session, the off-spinner was turning his arm over during England’s most recent practice.
An England XI will begin their first Ashes warm-up match against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Western-Australia-c865 on Friday, and are taking nothing for granted heading into it.
“Winning is a habit, and the quicker you can get into that habit the better,” Prior said. “First and foremost, we want to win the game.
“It’s dangerous to go down the line of a warm-up or practice match. It is a first-class game, and we’ll take it very seriously.”
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