'Smart sledging' will continue: Handscomb

Following the effective and unusually intellectual sledging at the Gabba, Australia will continue its banter barrage at Jonny Bairstow and his England teammates in Adelaide, Peter Handscomb confirmed today.

However, veteran England seamer James Anderson was keen to point out the Australians only started to pipe up in the field once they were on top after three tense days of Test cricket in Brisbane.

The Magellan Ashes hosts targeted Bairstow in the opening Test after discovering the wicketkeeper-batsman greeted debutant Cameron Bancroft with a headbutt in a Perth nightclub on the first evening the tourists touched down on Australian soil.

Described as "weird" and "random" by Bancroft in the wake of the Test, Bairstow's unique welcome became public knowledge when vice-captain David Warner was heard saying "you shouldn't headbutt our mates" on audio from the stump microphones on day four.

The verbal barbs did not cease until the right-hander played a "pretty ordinary shot" to hole out to a tactically placed third man for 42, a dismissal that Australia captain Steve Smith said can in part be put down to the home side's sledging strategy.

"I think it was basically about trying to get Jonny off his game, and I think it worked with the way he got out," Smith said.

"He got caught at third man playing a pretty ordinary stroke, to be fair. We were just trying to get in his head and it happened to work."

Now that they believe Bairstow can be rattled by sledging, Australia are set to dish up another course in the second Test starting Saturday.

"As far as sledging goes it was probably some of the smartest stuff we've ever come up with," Handscomb said.

"Generally, the Aussie way is, it's pretty brutal … but no, it was good to see that worked.

"It's a part of the game. It has been for a long time and it will continue to be.

"If we can keep being smart with our sledges then if it opens up a weakness we'll be pretty happy with it."

And the on-field banter won't be exclusively targeted at Bairstow, with the Australians looking to take advantage of any opportunity as long as it remains in the spirit of cricket.

"It's something that's part of the game, it always has been, it always will be," he said.

"If there's a moment that we can exploit someone's mental capabilities well then yeah, we're going to go about it.

"There are moments you pick and choose and obviously the right words. There's a line and we've just got to make sure we don't cross it."

He added: "If you can get that one per cent edge over an opposition you'd be silly not to."

Handscomb and Bairstow spent time together this winter when the Victorian represented Yorkshire as an overseas player.

But the friendship formed between the pair in Leeds is put on ice once they cross the white boundary line and into the heat of Ashes battle.

Handsomb says it's no different to when Australia's Test players face off in the JLT Sheffield Shield, that there are no holds barred in the middle before they return to more civil ways an once the match is over.

"When I played with him at Yorkshire we had a great time together," Handscomb said.

"I really like Jonny. We got along really well, but it's a different ball game now and if I ever go back to Yorkshire I daresay we'll hang out and have a good time and it will be perfectly fine.

"But during the Ashes it's about winning the game for Australia first and foremost."

Anderson said the England squad are fully behind Bairstow and that they predicted the confrontational behavior from the Australians.

But Anderson noted the verbal volume by the hosts was amplified only once they were ahead of the game after three captivating days of Test cricket.

"From our point of view we know what they're going to go hard at us, we knew that, we expected that from day one," Anderson said. "But it was fairly quiet for the first three days when we were doing well.

"It was only until the fourth day that they started becoming more vocal.

"So, it's no surprise no they're one-nil up that they're' going to keep that up.

"It's up to us individually to deal with that in your own way and also as a group we've got to come together and make sure we stick together on the field and make sure we're not here just to roll over."

If Bairstow is averse to sledging, Anderson thrives on it.

"It's something I've always enjoyed," he said.

"When someone is trying to get under my skin, just not in cricket but in all walks of life, it makes me determined to succeed.

"That's something from a personal point of view excites me and drive me on to the best I can with bat and ball." 

2017-18 International Fixtures

Magellan Ashes Series

Australia Test squad: Steve Smith (c), David Warner (vc), Cameron Bancroft, Usman Khawaja, Peter Handscomb, Shaun Marsh, Tim Paine (wk), Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood, Jackson Bird, Chadd Sayers.

England Test squad: Joe Root (c), James Anderson (vc), Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow, Jake Ball, Gary Ballance, Stuart Broad, Alastair Cook, Mason Crane, Tom Curran, Ben Foakes, Dawid Malan, Craig Overton, Ben Stokes, Mark Stoneman, James Vince, Chris Woakes.

First Test Australia won by 10 wickets. Scorecard

Second Test Adelaide Oval, December 2-6 (Day-Night). Tickets

Third Test WACA Ground, December 14-18. Tickets

Fourth Test MCG, December 26-30. Tickets

Fifth Test SCG, January 4-8 (Pink Test). Tickets

Gillette ODI Series v England

First ODI MCG, January 14. Tickets

Second ODI Gabba, January 19. Tickets

Third ODI SCG, January 21. Tickets

Fourth ODI Adelaide Oval, January 26. Tickets

Fifth ODI Perth Stadium, January 28. Tickets

Prime Minister's XI

PM's XI v England Manuka Oval, February 2. Tickets

Gillette T20 trans-Tasman Tri-Series

First T20I Australia v NZ, SCG, February 3. Tickets

Second T20I – Australia v England, Blundstone Arena, February 7. Tickets

Third T20I – Australia v England, MCG, February 10. Tickets

Fourth T20I – NZ v England, Wellington, February 14

Fifth T20I – NZ v Australia, Eden Park, February 16

Sixth T20I – NZ v England, Seddon Park, February 18

Final – TBC, Eden Park, February 21