Botham advises England to disregard sledging in 'hard, uncompromising' Ashes

Former England captain Sir Ian Botham has advised England to dig in and fight back in the second Test in Adelaide starting on December 5 and disregard the incessant sledging, which he added, will always be a part of the 'hard, uncompromising' Ashes.

The level of sledging is a hot topic following Australia's first Test win, with captain Michael Clarke fined for telling James Anderson to prepare for 'a broken f***ing arm' after the English tailender allegedly threatened to punch Australia's George Bailey.

According to the Sydney Morning Herald, Botham said that if a player can avoid the balls whizzing past his ears, then he would also be able to handle the barrage of abuse that flies along with the ball, adding England needs to face and get over the fact that the Australians will make the game as uncomfortable for them as possible.

Stating that England needs to put their body and soul into beating their oldest enemy, Botham also said that the team should ignore the resultant sparks that would erupt from such a confrontation, adding that despite all the 'chirping', in the end the series would simply boil down to batting, bowling and fielding.