Christian's theory of the missing sledge

Victoria allrounder Dan Christian says the camaraderie born from the KFC Big Bash League has all but ended sledging in first-class cricket.

Having played for three state teams (NSW, South Australia and Victoria) and a pair of BBL clubs (Brisbane and Hobart), Christian is a domestic cricket journeyman, and says the advent of the city-based T20 tournament is a big reason why there are now more friends than foes on the field.

But despite the verbal cease fire, sledging remains one of the hot topics raised to Christian by those outside the game.

"They ask if there's much sledging in first class-cricket anymore and there's hardly any because everyone plays together in BBL," Christian told cricket.com.au on Thursday.

"And it's just a different culture these days.

"You tend to get to know more guys from other teams better than you may have in the past.

"We still sledge a little bit but there's more fun in involved in it than when I first started - there was a bit more malice in it."

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While the level of animosity may have deflated due to the tight cricket community created by the Big Bash, Christian says the contest between teams when the proverbial white line is crossed has only intensified from the shortest format of the game.

And the 32-year-old is living proof of how a rush of blood on the field between teammates playing for different sides can surface in the heat of BBL battle.

Christian and Victoria teammate Clint McKay were at the centre of a mid-pitch exchange in BBL|02 when the allrounder was wearing the teal of the Brisbane Heat and the fast bowler the green of the Melbourne Stars.

After copping one in the midriff from McKay, Christian scampered through for a single, brushing past the bowler who was attempting to run out the sprinting non-striker in his follow through.

The paceman took offense to the evasive course taken by the batsman and let his feelings known to the umpire and his rival, to the point where the adversaries would have been nose to nose if it wasn't for Christian's interceding helmet. Nose to grille, perhaps.

And what makes it such a sound case study for Christian's theory of the missing sledge is that both were teammates away from the BBL bubble. But not for Victoria, think bigger.

"Around the time it happened I'm sure we were playing for Australia together," Christian said, who put out the call for the footage of his clash with Clint last night on Twitter.

"It was just one of things that happened on the field and we had a laugh about it five minutes afterwards.

"Last night after our (Shield) win (over SA) we were having a bit of a laugh in the changeroom about it."

The hard-hitting allrounder says it's the record-breaking attendances throughout the BBL since its inception, and its state-based predecessor, that's lifted the game's atmosphere from Adele to AC/DC which can sometimes lead to a heated moment or two out in the middle, like the one Christian experienced.

"There's still strong rivalries, don't get me wrong, but it's different these days," he said.

"Not more so in the BBL, but I think it gets heightened a little more in the BBL.

"The intensity is much higher than in a Shield game or a Matador game. You're playing in front of 40,000 people .. that kind of thing can happen pretty easily."