Ashes 2017/18: Shane Warne Feels On-Field Temperatures Can Rise In the Third Test

Australian legendary leg-spinner Shane Warner feels that on-field temperatures could rise in the third Test at the WACA in Perth. Australia took a 2-0 lead in the Ashes series after beating England by 120 runs in the day/night Test as the Adelaide Oval in Adelaide. The match was played with high intensity as players from both the teams wanted to do their country’s proud and play well in the match. The first innings banter made fans from both the countries and fans around globe excited about the contest.

James Anderson and Stuart Broad tried to get under the skins of Australian batsmen David Warner and Steven Smith. Anderson believes that Smith’s first innings score of 40 runs which was below his high standards was a result of his relentless sledging on the world’s best batsman. Smith got out for just six runs in the second innings, and Anderson credited the on-field chants and banter with the world’s number one Test batsman for this below par performance.

Warne feels that England’s desperation to win the third Test to stay in the series, things could heat up in the next Test. He said:

 “At the moment while the byplay has at times been very heated from both teams, it’s mostly been accompanied by a smile and been conducted in the right spirit. But I have a feeling the banter could boil over in Perth. With the Ashes on the line and the Poms staring down the barrel of a five-nil whitewash, the emotion could well reach fever pitch.” 

Warne believes sledging Smith could backfire for the England team:

 “I’m not sure I’d be sledging him in Perth, if I was England the best thing now would be to not say a word to him when he walks out, just ignore him and give him the silent treatment. It’s hard to split Virat Kohli and Smith for the title of No.1 Test batsmen in the world at the moment and the best players like the battle and are super competitive. Engaging him in banter could just ignite the concentration within and lead to a big hundred for the Aussie skipper. It’s a bit like when the Australian teams that I played in started sledging Brian Lara – we learnt after the seventh or eighth ton that it wasn’t a great plan.” 

Warne, known for his art sledging, feels sledging in the modern era has been substituted with abusing:

“For mine, the art of sledging is all about unsettling your opponent to the point where they lose concentration and focus. It’s about being subtle, clever and humorous rather than loud bravado. It’s the little word here or there, often when your opponent least expects it, that can really touch a nerve. Sledging is about making a batsman think of something other than what he should be. Taking an example from another sport, it’s like arriving at a par three with a green protected by water and recalling to your partner about the time he ‘sliced one into the drink on the right’. (It) just gets you thinking. Joe Root? The Aussies in Perth on Thursday might chat to him about his issues with turning fifties into hundreds. That and how his side is ‘massively still in this series”