England all-rounder Stuart Broad has revealed that he has no concerns over what was said between England and Australia players on the field during the first test but he was critical of some of the off-the field talk from the Australians.

England suffered a humiliating defeat by 381 runs in the first Ashes test at Brisbane with their batsmen failing miserably to cope with the short bowling of Mitchell Johnson in particular.

As well as the aggressive short pitched bowling there was also a torrent of sledging which clearly unsettled some of the England players but, for Broad, the on the field verbals are all part of the game.

“I think the on-field stuff has been fine,” the 27 year old said. “You’re playing in an Ashes Test match – you expect it to be tough. I grew up hearing all sorts of stories about ‘sledging’, and on the field I don’t think a line’s been crossed.”

In the aftermath of the first test defeat England’s Jonathan Trott has left the tour citing a stress related illness but before his departure was announced, Australia batsman David Warner was critical of his performance.

For Broad, taking criticism of individual opposition players off the field is a step too far and he would certainly not expect that from his England side.

“Off the field, there have been some mistakes made,” Broad said. “As an England side, we pride ourselves on how we conduct ourselves when talking about the opposition, because you never know what’s going on in their changing rooms and lives,” he added.

Australia will certainly go into the second test buoyed by their dominance at Brisbane but fans know that England still have the quality to turn the series round.

If Broad and his teammates can use the Australians’ on and off the field comments as motivation to lift their game ahead of the second test at Adelaide on 5th December then they could upset the Ashes betting odds and breathe life into the series.

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