Mitchell Starc Fires Off Brutal Sledge To Zak Crawley As Ashes Tensions Boil Over

Things are getting tetchy out there at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

Australian fast bowler Mitchell Starc looked fired up as he got into it with English opener Zak Crawley as tensions appeared to boil over.

Alamy

The rival duo seemed to trade barbs after a nasty bouncing delivery from Starc caught Crawley flush on the hand.

The batsman completely dropped his bat and winced in pain as Starc stared him down from the opposite end of the wicket before the physio was parachuted in.

Stump microphones then picked up a fiery exchange between the pair involving Aussie spinner Nathan Lyon too.

Starc said: "Gazza, what did he say to you the other night?"

Audio in the SCG was unable to pick up what Lyon's response was, although you can imagine the sledge wasn't particularly pleasant for it to rile up Starc so bad.

"Yeah, I thought so," a fuming Starcy replied.

What Starc is referring to Footage was a moment from the Thursday night session where Lyon and Crawley appeared exchange pleasantries in the middle while the Englishman was off strike.

Up until this point, the trash-talk that usually comes with a heated Ashes series have been rather subdued.

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"First bit of, call it, sledging this Ashes, there hasn't been a great deal," former England captain Michael Vaughan said in the Fox Sports commentary booth.

"A bit of chirp."

I mean, who doesn't love a bit of chirp when you're 3-0 up and Scotty Boland looks unplayable?