England captain Michael Vaughan has defended the "playful banter"
his side employed against the Indians in the first cricket Test, saying it was
"not untoward" in the gentleman's game.
In fact, Vaughan praised his teammates for their effective use of the ploy "to
get one up" on the Indian batsmen.
"We are trying to play our cricket with a real intensity
about it and that involves being a little bit aggressive. It's not untoward
in the game of cricket," Vaughan said on the eve of the second Test at
Trent Bridge.
"We're just trying to hit the pitch hard and hit the right areas and try
and really rally around in the field.
"It's nothing that we haven't done in the past, it's just
something we're doing well at the minute." Wicketkeeper Matt Prior
in particular was involved in a lot of chatting on the fourth day at Lord's,
upsetting Indian opener Dinesh Kaarthick's focus on more than one occasion.
"Most keepers are a pretty similar character. He (Prior)
is doing well at the minute and I guess it's part of his armoury to try and
get one up on the batman," Vaughan said in support of his teammate.
"It wasn't a great deal, just a bit of talking after play,
seeing how he was going to play in the morning, that was all. I didn't hear
Kaarthick say anything.
"It was just a bit of playful banter. You are always trying to put the
batsman off, but it was nothing really."
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