Australia's opening batsman David Warner has claimed that he has no plans to hold himself back from the chirpy exchanges with the opponents despite, as he branded his side's mental battles with the opposing team as banter, not sledging.
Australians are renowned for their chatter in the middle, which has often put the team in hot water, with captain Michael Clarke's menacing warning to England bowler James Anderson to get ready for a broken 'f*****g arm' during the Ashes series costing him part of his match fee.
Australian batsman Phillip Hughes' recent passing prompted calls by critics for cricketers to be more civil to each other out in the field of battle and for three days of the series-opening Test in Adelaide between Australia and India, it appeared that the players had heeded the calls, Sport24 reported.
However, Warner, as so often before, managed to get under his opponents' skin. He was given a send-off when facing Indian paceman Varun Aaron on day four but had the last laugh when the wicket was disallowed following a television replay that showed the bowler had overstepped the crease on his delivery.
Warner, who went on to score two centuries in the match, said that if it requires a little bit of banter to get the other person talking, adding that that's what is going to happen.
He claimed that some players, they don't say anything at all, but then when they do, one knows that they are in their head. He also claimed that he likes to go at them, to try and get them to bite back at him when he goes out there and bats, adding that at the moment it's working.
Warner claimed that more of the same could be expected during the third Test in Melbourne with the hosts carrying a 2-0 lead in the four-match series.
Although Warner was sledger-in-chief during the Ashes series, he claims that India has proved a bit of a challenge. He admitted that it's quite tough with nations that speak different languages, adding that the aim for them is not really sledging, it's more banter.
