You can’t beat a bit of needle to spice up the tranquillity of cricket, and as India completed a comfortable win over England, the debate started over what had been happening on the square rather than the wicket.

Instead of analysing what happened to the England middle order for the second time in the game, the pundits were more concerned with who threw jelly babies at Zaheer Khan while he was batting, whether Sri Sreesanth accidentally shoved Michael Vaughan, and why Matt Prior was blowing kisses at Khan. What is clear is that two sides normally at the milder end of sledging and mind games among the Test playing nations, have suddenly become, dare I suggest, almost Australian-like in playing mind games.

England coach Peter Moores has instilled a more steel-like approach to the game into his team. But it’s one thing to be chirping at incoming batsmen, and another to forget the basics of batting, which is what happened to England in the Test they have just lost.

'If you think the Aussies are the word champions of sledging, you clearly haven’t heard a team of coal miners welcoming a rosy-cheeked youngster to the crease'

The nonsense off the pitch should be left as what it is, nonsense. Having played a bit of league cricket in Leeds in my youth I can tell you that what happened at Trent Bridge was like a vicar’s tea party. If you think the Aussies are the word champions of sledging, you clearly haven’t heard a team of coal miners welcoming a rosy-cheeked youngster to the crease.

The real story of the Trent Bridge Test of 2007 was how a medium fast bowler of little repute, and with little practice coming into the tour, was able to swing the ball like a boomerang and put the fear of God into a middle and lower order that only two years ago was tonking the Aussies all over England. Yes, Michael Vaughan, after playing a typically majestic innings, was desperately unlucky to see the ball go from thigh pad to stump, but instead of worrying about jelly babies, Moores should see how the house of cards completely collapsed.

Ian Bell, in particular, is a big worry. Here is a player who can annihilate every county attack in the country but who, like Mark Ramprakash and Graeme Hick, finds the Test going much more difficult. There’s no mercy at this level and he can expect to be donning the Warwickshire sweater next week at The Oval while Ravi Bopara steps in.