ENGLAND’S cricket stars are preparing for Ashes abuse by pumping out crowd sledging at training.
Coach Brendon McCullum and skipper Ben Stokes have brought in speakers blaring recordings of Aussies hurling insults.
Heaters and fans are also being used to replicate the stifling 40C heat they may face Down Under when the five-Test series begins on November 21 in Perth.
Asked if England were piping in sledging at training, fast bowler Mark Wood said: “Yeah. We’ve been ‘champed’ about 50 times in the last week.
“So just getting used to it. It’s just trying to gear you up for what’s to come.”
Aussies belittle opposition players by calling them ‘champ’ as part of a sledge — once described by all-rounder Moises Henriques as “paying a compliment and wrapping it in a dirty sandwich”.
Wood added: “I’ve had a tour where I’ve essentially run drinks around the boundary, which was a bit tasty. I like getting a bit of flack. I’ve actually enjoyed the crack.
“I just tried to just embrace it and have a big crack with people in the crowd and bounce a bit off it. If they’re a bit too far, you can just ignore it.”
It is not the first time a sports team has tried to replicate hostile crowds in training before matches.
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta once set up speakers at training and blared out Liverpool’s anthem ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ ahead of a crunch match at Anfield.
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And SunSport revealed how Europe’s golfers used Virtual Reality headsets to prepare for shouting American fans ahead of the Ryder Cup.
Speaking to the Wisen cricket podcast about England’s preparation, Wood added: “It’s invaluable to get into that tent pump with the heating up and stuff so it’s like being abroad.
“They have heaters and fans and stuff in the tent. It’s chalk and cheese when you’re in and out of the tent.
“It’s just trying to gear you up for what’s to come.”
He also revealed that England players are so heavily scrutinised at Australian customs that they have had kit removed from them before if it contains any English soil on it.
He said: “It’s strict. You’ve got to have every bit of mud off your (cricket) boots.
“There’s no mud or English soil allowed on their soil whatsoever. So I’ve had a couple of boots taken off us.”
