Ashes 2010: England to let their skills do the talking on the pitch, says Matt Prior

England are hoping to disprove the old saw that nice guys finish last during this Ashes series by winning the intimidation war not by sledging, but by bringing their skills to bear on Ricky Ponting’s side, writes former fast bowler Derek Pringle in The Telegraph.

“England will try to intimidate Australian batsmen with their industry and pack mentality,” Pringle quotes wicketkeeper-batsman Matt Prior, as saying.

“I’m not going down the sledging route,” Prior said after Tuesday's nets and after he had scooped the winner of the Melbourne Cup, Americain, in the team sweepstake.

He added: “Nothing intimidatory, no sledging, none of that. Instead there will be a massive focus on us performing our skills. We work very hard at training with bowlers getting the ball in areas where the batsmen can’t score. But when someone does hit a good shot and a fielder pulls off a great stop and throws the ball to the keeper quickly, the batter is still on strike. You can immediately see how the energy and intensity builds."