Australians have crossed a line with sledging, England players ‘rightfully upset,’ says Matt Prior

Prior said that ordinary sledging would not work on experienced players like former England captain and opener Alastair Cook. (Source: Reuters)

Former England wicketkeeper Matt Prior said that, unlike what Steve Smith said, Australian players’ sledging did cross a line and upset the England players. 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.”

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 or Australian opener David Warner and because of that the opposition would go deeper. “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.”