Hotheaded Australia batsman David Warner concedes he overstepped the mark in sledging England, and Jonathan Trott in particular, during the first Ashes Test but made it clear his comments were strategic and intended to rattle the tourists.
Warner, who scored 49 and 124 in Australia's 381-run victory in Brisbane, described Trott's dismissal as "pretty poor and weak". England's number three batsman was caught for nine after struggling with Mitchell Johnson's short-pitched bowling.
- 'Carefree' Warner detects fear in English eyes
The comments, made at a media conference on Saturday after stumps on day three, were condemned by England captain Alastair Cook as "disrespectful".
"I made those comments for a reason," he told reporters at Brisbane airport on Monday.
"Look, yesterday, the bounce and pace got to them again.
"It is Ashes cricket. Probably went a little bit too far with the comments, but it's cricket and now it's in the back of their mind."
Warner may yet face sanctioning by the ICC for his public comments about Trott.
Beaten 3-0 in the first Ashes series earlier this year, a fired-up Australian attack harried England's batsmen with a barrage of bouncers throughout the Gabba Test and often followed up the short-pitched assaults with a few choice words.
Tempers threatened to boil over on Sunday as Australia approached victory on day four, with umpires moving to step in and separate players sniping at each other.
Prominent cricket broadcaster David Lloyd, who played nine Tests for England as an all-rounder, singled out 27-year-old Warner for going overboard with his on-field chatter.
"I'm a big lad who has heard a few things in my time but David Warner in particular came out with some really nasty, horrible stuff," Lloyd wrote in the Daily Mail about comments picked up by broadcaster Sky's stump microphone.
Lefthander Warner has strayed into controversy a number of times this year, most notably when he punched England batsman Joe Root at a Birmingham bar in the leadup to the Ashes in England and was stood down for the first two Tests.
He was also fined by Cricket Australia for an expletive-strewn rant against prominent Australian cricket writers on Twitter earlier this year.
Image: David Warner
Photograph: Ryan Pierse/Getty Images
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