Sledging is ok as it happens in all sports, but here is a way to do it. If you are going to talk for ****s sake have the talent to back what you say or you just look like a dodo in Priors case. For instance his comment on his porche carerra is classic schoolyard stuff. If you notice how the past greats did it, it seemed more like a light witted banter than open insults and verbals. Also this new trend in the English bowlers to glare the batsmen down to their chinstrap is getting boring. Sidebum looks quite funny glaring people down.

I think the new England managment want their team to be more aggressive. Nothing wrong with that, but there is a difference between healthy aggression and downright hooliganism.

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I'd read about the Porsche comment but the article hadn't revealed who said it.
What a ridiculous thing to say. Arrogant, and petty. He wouldn't have said it to Tendulkar, the man with a ferrari!
Actually, I would have loved Tendulkar to come to the crease, tap his bat on the floor, then turn around to Prior and say "I drive a Ferrari, and I'm a millionaire!"

Prior comes across as an arrogant pillock - it's almost okay in KP's case, because he backs it up with international quality cricket, as opposde to Prior.
Unfortunately his debut century will mean he's in the side for a long time to come. Oh well, from here on it's downhill all the way!

Back on topic, I think stump mics have to be kept. Why should we dispense with them because of some prattish behaviour?

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Mae hen wlad fy nhadau yn annwyl i mi

I think sledging has gradually crept into being something that happens in most games now, and that's why it doesn't come as a surprise.
"Great" sledges of the past were memorable because they were funny and usually passed between a great player and someone perhaps a little less good.
Nowadays we confuse sledging with abuse, and that's unacceptable.
I found England's performance distasteful, and I'm glad they lost the Test.

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Mae hen wlad fy nhadau yn annwyl i mi

Leave them plugged in I cant wait for the next Ashes series in England or any other overseas series where the matches are played after 9.PM our time in Australia. By that time the censor has gone to bed and we can hear the beautiful pure dialog coming from the competitors.
I wish Warnie hadn't of retired..

Can you give me a link to the article?

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My computer can beat me at chess.....but its no match for me at kick boxing.

I read it in the Times yesterday.
England can pretend but hard men don’t boast - Times Online

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Mae hen wlad fy nhadau yn annwyl i mi

Atherton is really desperate for a pommie win if he has to stoop to such demands, Also he should be reminded about the "gravel in his trouser pocket which he administered to the ball in a Test that he was playing in".

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I'm not young enough to know everything.

I read the observer yesterday, and Vic marks pointed out that, it is almost impossible to envisage Chris Read or Geraint Jones, who are essentially polite well-mannered young men, being considered for England while the pervading air is one of yobbishness from the keeper.

Read/Jones preferred to encourage their own bowlers (both kept well to monty last summer, and encouraged the young man a lot) than engage in unnecessary verbals with the opposition.

Prior has looked even worse than jones did to begin with. His attitude does not endear him to me, especially when i recall both prior and Chris Adams throwing their toys out the pram when Warne sledged Prior in a county game back in early 2005.

The jelly bean incident was absolutely puerile, and i would expect better from a team captained by Vaughan.

If they want to beat India, perhaps being better than them at cricket would be an excellent place to start.

Was Atherton banned for the "Alladin's lamp" job that he did to the ball during his playing days? At least Sreesanth apologised.

Nope, he was not banned at all.

Cricinfo - The dirt in the pocket affair

[/quote]Sitting alongside him was Illingworth, who duly announced that he was fining Atherton £2000 - half for using dirt to dry his fingers, and half for lying to the match referee[/quote]