The Aussies say they will not back down from sledging despite Tabraiz Shamsi and Matthew Wade being fined for their fourth ODI confrontation.

The two were docked 25% of their match fees and were slapped with a demerit point after they went face to face during the Aussies’ fourth straight defeat, at Port Elizabeth on Sunday.

It all started when Wade appeared to veer towards Shamsi, standing well clear, as he went for a single, prompting some choice comments. The ICC said both players twice ignored umpires’ instructions to stop their aggressive exchange that was deemed contrary to the spirit of the game.

Dave Warner picked up the standard from slip throughout the South African innings, maintaining a trend which started on day one.

But Wade’s teammate Ryan Harris said the Proteas give as good as they get and when players such as Shamsi are prepared to fire shots, the right thing for Australia to do is stand up to it regardless of the match situation.

‘What I saw, there was no contact, there were a few words, Harris said. ‘That’s cricket. That’s life and that’s how we play our game.

‘It’s obviously how he [Shamsi] plays it. We accept that and we accept what Wadey is going to do.

‘If they want to throw stuff at us, obviously they’re in front as well, but we’re not going to stand back just because we’re down. We have a lot of pride in our players, in our team and in our country, so we’re going to fight back.’

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