Ashes cricket 2023: UK media fuel sledging chat ahead of Australia v England first Test
Shane Warne made sure former England all-rounder Adam Hollioake’s first ball in Test cricket was a ‘blur’, delivering an all-time Ashes sledge. And it wasn’t the only one.
The 2023 Ashes series is finally upon us.
Widely regarded as one of sport’s fiercest rivalries, the battle for bragging rights between England and Australia begins at Edgbaston with both sides fancying themselves favourite for victory.
But as always, this series will be about so much more than form, results and which side can eclipse the other with the traditional war of the words already raging for months.
Stuart Broad kicking things off back in April when he dismissed Australia’s 2021-22 Series whitewash as “null and void” given the circumstances in which it was played. His comments sparked backlash from Australia and ignited a player, pundit, fan and the media frenzy.
The art of sledging has long been a crucial part of cricket and it’s dominated the UK press in the final days of Ashes prep.
One of the greatest Ashes sledging moments came when renowned womaniser and Aussie legend Shane Warne welcomed former England all-rounder Adam Hollioake to the pitch by reeling off the names of his female Aussie relatives.
“I knew when I came out to bat I was going to get it,” Hollioake told The Sun.
“They said, ‘Here he is, playing his first game for England, all his family back in Australia wishing he was playing for Australia — Uncle Rex’.
“I was like, ‘s***, they know Uncle Rex. How do they know Uncle Rex?’.
“Then they said ‘Aunty Jan’. I was like, ‘How the hell do you guys know Aunty Jan?’.
“They had gone away and found out the names of all my relatives. “I knew Warnie was a bit of a womaniser at the time. I was like, ‘Has Warnie been with my Aunty Jan?’.
“As I faced my first ball in Test cricket that’s all I can think about. My first ball is just a blur. I’m just trying to solve the puzzle, has Warnie been around to see my Aunty Jan?”
According to The Sun, Warne, who died last year aged 52, had a love-hate relationship with England fans made all the more fiery thanks to his relationship with Liz Hurley.
“He revealed he had even given her “sledging lessons” to prepare her for the sport’s fiery atmosphere.”
Legendary former England bowler Darren Gough recalls the impact the war of the words had on him as a young player travelling to his first series in 1994.
“The thing with the fans in The Ashes is they’re the most brutal but also the most respectful if you perform,” Gough told The Sun. “What every Ashes player really wants is to go and play at their place and beat them. That’s the best response to the sledging and it’s how you earn respect.”
Warnie is at the centre of numerous former England stars sharing their Ashes sledge stories ahead of the Edgbaston opener with perhaps none more hilarious than Andrew Strauss’ tale of being shamed and silenced by the Aussie star.
It was back in 2005 in Birmingham with Australia needing an improbable 145 runs to win. Enter Warne.
“Ashley Giles is bowling. He bowled one, it went past the edge of Warnie’s bat and I thought, this is my moment to say something,” Strauss told the Mirror.
“So I plucked up the courage, took a deep breath and said ‘Come on, Gilo, he’s really struggling against you here’ which, admittedly, is a very poor sledge. Sledging was not my strongest suit and Warnie just looked at me.
“These two eyes looked at me and he went ‘Mate, there is only one guy struggling around here, it’s you, you’re f***ing s***’. Warnie had an ability to make you feel very small and I was hoping that my teammates would back me up and all lay into him.
“To add insult to injury, Warnie looked at me again and went ‘Mate, you say one more word to me and I’m going to hit the next ball for six’. So I’m thinking ‘Okay, well maybe your ego is getting in the way here a bit Warnie’ and I went ‘Okay fine, come on Gilo he’s really struggling against you here’.
“Warnie ran down the wicket, hit the ball miles over long on for six and again I’m feeling about two foot six at this point and he just looked at me and went ‘are you going to say it again mate?’”
That’s the message from Telegraph columnist Sir Geoffrey Boycott.
“There are some juicy moments to watch when both sides are batting. Enough to keep you interested in this series. Will Stuart Broad still have “the wood” over David Warner, he writes.
“I think so. Warner isn’t the force of a few years ago and, when Broad bowls around the wicket, David doesn’t seem to know where his off stump is.
“Getting him out cheaply will do tremendous psychological damage to him and any impact he may have on this series.
Bazball is no doubt going to be the most searched cricket term of the series and former England captain Nassar Hussein has weighed in on the impact the style of play will have in the coming months.
In his column for the Daily Mail, Hussein wrote: “If I know Australian cricketers, having watched England’s Bazball style they will be asking: ‘Yeah, but can you do it against us, the newly-crowned world Test champions.
Well, whatever the answer to that question, this Ashes is going to be very watchable, and if they do pull it off, and Harry Brook, Ben Stokes and Jonny Bairstow are smashing the ball to all parts over the next few days, imagine Edgbaston’s infamous Eric Hollies Stand. It will go ballistic.
If they don’t, it will still be fun and Stokes and Brendon McCullum will have been true to their word as world cricket’s great entertainers.
Of course, failure will fuel the arguments of those who said this style of play would only work against certain sides and England have been over-hyped, but one thing’s for sure — under the current leadership team, they won’t take a backwards step.
At the same time, they like to play the Bazball term down, as despite scoring at five an over, the fastest run rate in the history of the game, it is not all about teeing off every single delivery.
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