England pace spearhead James Anderson says the team has no intention of provoking a sledging war with firebrand Australian opener David Warner in Saturday’s high-profile cricket World Cup opener here.
Anderson, who has a reputation of getting under the skin of Australian players, was asked if he would be targeting Warner & Co. during the tournament opener at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
Warner is living life on the edge as far as disciplinary issues are concerned, and the ICC has already warned of a crackdown on aggressive sledging during the World Cup.
“Having played against him [Warner] in the past, I don’t think he needs too much encouragement,” Anderson told reporters on Friday.
“We’re going out there to concentrate on what we do, we’re going to try to be aggressive with the ball up front all the way through the innings and try and take wickets.
“Our main job is to get them out, not to rile them up, so we’ll be concentrating on that.”
Anderson has a history of disciplinary trouble and was last year cleared of a serious misconduct charge following an incident with India’s Ravindra Jadeja in the Trent Bridge Test, narrowly avoiding a possible four-game ban.
Australia Test captain Michael Clarke lost 20 percent of his match fee after tensions became heated with Anderson during the first Ashes Test at the Gabba in 2013.
Warner was twice fined by the ICC for verbal clashes with India during the recent Test and one-day series. He also created headlines when he punched England batsman Joe Root in a nightclub before the 2013 Ashes series in England.
