Haddin refuses to back down on sledging

Australia wicketkeeper Brad Haddin has said that their approach regarding sledging will not change during the upcoming Ashes series against England that starts on 8 July.

All the talk in the build up to the Ashes has been about the conduct and sportsmanship between the sides after a few unsavoury incidents when Australia beat England in the 2013/2014 series.

The Three Lions have just come off a series against the New Zealand where it seemed as if the all the matches were played in a tremendous spirit.

England captain Alastair Cook said earlier this week that both teams have a resposibility to the game, while bowler James Anderson has also called on both sides to 'ditch the sledging'.

Haddin, who was also accussed of having a go at the Kiwis in the World Cup final, though is having none of it saying the Ashes was always played in the right spirit.

The 37 year-old Haddin said: "I don't understand where they're coming from with this. I don't understand this 'pleasant' thing. I don't know what it is. I don't know what I'm meant to say to it. If you could explain to me what it is.

"We fixed that [New Zealand] in the World Cup final, didn't we? Ashes campaigns are always played in the right spirit. Everyone's obviously highly competitive and there has never really been any dramas with sledging.

"I don't really see the need to talk about it."

The first Ashes series gets underway in at the Sophia Gardens ground in Cardiff.

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