Australian captain Steve Smith and English bowler James Anderson have exchanged a war of words during the lead-up to the second Ashes Test in Adelaide.
Anderson labelled the Aussies as "bullies", referencing the first test as an example of their apparent behaviour.
"A bully waits until they are in the ascendancy to pounce on people," Anderson wrote in the UK Telegraph.
"That is what Australian teams do. They are quiet when they are not on top which was the case for the first three days of the Brisbane Test and then on day four they came alive.
"It is down to us to cope with that and deal with it."
Anderson's controversial comments didn't cease there however, adding it was a deliberate ploy to say things close to the stump mics so it would be picked up by the media.
"We knew what they were up to. That is fine, we just leave them to it," he added.
"We are not interested in getting involved in any verbal battle or slanging match with them."
Steve Smith, who was the hero of the first test victory at the Gabba, laughed off Anderson's comments, suggesting they were hypocritical from the English pace bowler.
“I think it’s interesting coming from Jimmy, calling us bullies and big sledgers,” Smith said.
“He’s one of the biggest sledgers in the game to be perfectly honest with you.
“I remember back in 2010 when I first started and I wasn’t any good and he was pretty happy to get stuck into me then so it’s interesting coming from Jimmy.”
Smith also dismissed Anderson's claims over the Australian's intentions to leak information to the media, saying there was "no issue".
“I think everything was fine. It was played in good spirit," Smith said.
"As I’ve said previously, there’s a line there that we’re not to cross and I thought we played the game in good spirit so I’ve got no issue there.”
The second Test begins on Saturday at the Adelaide Oval.
