Michael Clarke's call to arms a little premature Part of the game: Australian captain Michael Clarke clashes with James Anderson of England. Michael Clarke tells Jimmy Anderson he can expect a broken arm. Correction: a f---ing broken arm. Big deal. Those who think the genteel sport of bat and ball is immune to the dark art of The Sledge are deluded. The greatest one-liners - and comebacks - of all time have come on the cricket field. Mars bars on a good length, stuff about yer missus, dropping the World Cup, Merv's infamous "hit that" retort and all that jazz. The Australian skipper's sledge to Anderson might not have the same level of intellect of England quick Fred Trueman, who once told an Australian batsman who had just shut the gate while walking out on to the field: "Don't bother shutting it, son, you won't be there long enough." It certainly wasn't the ugliest or most violent. As scary Windies great Malcolm Marshall once said to David Boon: "Now David, are you going to get out or am I going to have to come round the wicket and kill you?" The typical conga line of do-gooders and keyboard warriors have trotted out missives about Clarke setting an example for The Children and so on. There is no place for The Sledge for the precious little ears of The Children, they say. They forget that in the furnace of Test cricket such on-field tongue-fu has existed for more than a hundred years. The difference now is that a stump mic just so happens to pick up what's said in the middle. Technology now takes us out to the pitch. If ears are too sensitive to what is being said, press the mute button. What do you want from the Australian captain? To offer the opposition a cup of tea while his foot is on their throat? News that the ICC will fine Clarke 20 per cent of his match fee is very heavy-handed. You can't swear on the cricket field? It reminds me of this sign at the pro-shop of a Newcastle golf club: "No swearing on the course." Yeah, good one. Nevertheless, Clarke and his team are playing a very dangerous game. Psychological warfare and mental disintegration, as Steve Waugh called it, is one thing. Rubbing the opposition's nose in it when the job is far from done is another. Clarke was roundly criticised for his prosaic pre-match media conference, although he has mastered the not-so-dark art of saying very little publicly for a very long time. For a change, it was welcomed. After weeks of Australian players promising throat balls and that the Englishman could smell fear, just like bees according to the little fat kid in Jerry Maguire, you sensed Clarke wanted actions to speak louder than his words. In the Brisbane Test, they did so. But Dave Warner just couldn't help himself. His remarks about England having "scared eyes" and that Jonathan Trott's dismissal to Mitchell Johnson was "pretty poor and pretty weak" were immature and premature. The last time I checked, Trott had scored 2000 or so more Test runs than Warner. Warner told reporters at Brisbane Airport on Monday morning that he might have taken it a step too far. You think? Warner and others must be suffering from amnesia. Australia are one-up in this best-of-five series, but have lost the past three Ashes series. For some reason, it's a minor point many have forgotten. For a healthy dose of perspective, cast your minds back to the third Ashes Test at the WACA Ground in 2010. Until then, Johnson seemed to be weighed down by his tattoos as much as expectation, and was ineffective in Brisbane. Australia then had their bottoms smacked in Adelaide. The form reversal in Perth was stunning. Few left the WACA as the sun set on the fourth day, with Australia having won by 267 runs, with Johnson declared man of the match, having claimed nine wickets, believing that the tide hadn't turned. It was clear with one hour of play on Boxing Day at the MCG that the tide wasn't moving as Australian wickets fell with fans still taking their seats. They were dismissed for 98 in their first innings, and England were 0-157 at stumps. Australia had taken the ascendancy in one the space of one Test, then England snatched it back within the space of one day. Few left the MCG on that particular day believing Australia could win back the Ashes, and they didn't. Of course, there is reason to believe this time that the inevitable fall that comes to a side at the top for so long is about to occur. But some perspective, please. This might be the time for some on-field sledging, but the time for backslapping has not yet arrived. Talk is cheap at the best of times. But when your words come around and bite you on the backside, you look like a fool. Twitter: @webstar1