Australian skipper Michael Clarke insists there is no animosity with England despite the final day of the first Test turning nasty with tailender James Anderson told to expect a broken arm.
The home team's huge 381-run victory on Sunday was tarnished by constant sledging as frustrations boiled over, culminating in Clarke being caught by a stump microphone telling Anderson to "get ready for a broken fucking arm".
England skipper Alastair Cook was also upset at David Warner calling England frightened, while singling out batsman Jonathan Trott as "weak". Cook slammed the remarks as "disrespectful".
The media lapped up the tense war of words with the Sydney Daily Telegraph screaming on its front page: "Poms Mitch-slapped as rampant Aussies bring back the sledge," referring to fast bowler Mitch Johnson tearing through the England innings.
The usually mild-mannered Clarke also wagged his finger in a close-up confrontation with Anderson, one of England's worst sledgers, with the umpires needing to step in to cool tempers.
But the skipper said it was simply his competitive nature and had nothing to do with Australian bitterness over England's 3-0 Ashes win sealed in August.
Instead, it showed Australia were up for the fight.
"I think it is because both teams want to win so badly," Clarke said. "I respect that there is a line and both teams shouldn't overstep that line.
"I think the rivalry and the banter on the field, it is give and take both ways. It is not one team dictating the other. It is about when you have momentum, run with it for as long as you possibly can.
"And when you don't, fight your backside off to try and get it back. In this Test match, we have grabbed the moment and tried to run with it for as long as possible.
