The Ashes: Aussie aggro has board, public blessing

Australia's conscious decision to use unbridled aggression and intimidation in a final desperate bid for cricket's Ashes has the blessing of the game's administrators and supporters.

Paceman Mitchell Johnson's admission of calculated sledging was met with tacit approval by Cricket Australia, backed up by exhaustive research into what Australian supporters expect from their team.

"The field of play is not a place for 'namby pambys' and the public doesn't want to see namby pambys out there," CA spokesman Peter Young said.

"What the public are saying is they'd like the team to play hard but fair and that is not contradictory.

"What they don't like is sharp practice, people who stand their ground knowing they're out, cheating and in particular anything to do with corruption.

"There is in a sense an informal induction when players come into he team about the importance of the spirit of cricket and the expectation that the game is played a certain way.

"But it's tough, it's ruthless and the public expect it to be tough, ruthless, no quarter asked and no quarter given."

Johnson said the team have been trying to rein in their natural aggression for three years, ever since being howled down as "ugly Australians" in the aftermath of the spiteful 2008 New Year's test against India at the SCG.

But with the Ashes on the line at the WACA, it has burst out of them once more, to startling effect.

"I guess we decided we needed to get up there and get fiery, but not overstep the line," said Johnson.

"We definitely did back off for a period there (after Sydney). We've sort of been up and down with it to be honest.

"I had a bit of an incident with Scott Styris in New Zealand and there's been a few others along the way - we sort of cop a fair bit of stick for it and then sort of go back into our shells a little bit.

"You look at the times when we do play well, when we've got that bit of fire about us we do play very well I think.

"I think if we can get right up in their faces a little bit more, you pick certain blokes out, I think we did that well.

"It definitely works for us."

Following the Sydney match, many accusing fingers were pointed at the Australians for over-appealing, refusing to walk and claiming questionable catches.

At the time, then-gloveman Adam Gilchrist described the team's reaction.

"Maybe subconsciously guys were a bit more aware of all the hysteria that was created, which I will happily say I think was way over the top," he said.

"We won a game of cricket (but) the way we were hung out I felt like we were the ones who had started some sort of riot that had caused the deaths of people."

- AAP