5 Australian players hated by England

If England and Australia were two smug people bound by a historic alliance, their Facebook 'relationship status' would read - ''It's complicated''.

Brought together under the purview of Commonwealth, England and Australia have never been at war, however, there is no shying away from sporting warfare.

Matters like historic enmity and cultural oppositions between the two proud nations are dealt with on a cricket pitch.

Therefore, during the Ashes Test series, players from both the countries try to punch well above their weight and become overnight national heroes.

Both England and Australia are obsessed with beating each other as it gives a zing no other victory can offer.

More often than not, the intimately entwined rivalry gets permeated beyond the pitch and the desire to exact revenge takes over.

Due to their excessive bullying, theatrics and grudge matches, these 5 Australians stood out to become the greatest cricketing villains in England.

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David Warner

Australia and England will renew their Ashes rivalry when they cross swords in the first 2017-18 Ashes Test on 23rd November at the Gabba.

The hosts' vice-captain David Warner has fired the opening shots by saying that the Australian team will take motivation for the upcoming series from their hatred towards England.

In 2013, following the Edgbaston defeat in ICC Champions Trophy in England, Australia’s chief agitator, famously punched Joe Root in a bar in Birmingham and was excluded for two warm-up games by CA.

Later that year in the return series, he claimed that the tourists had 'scared eyes' during the first Test in Brisbane.

Recently, Warner revealed that he punched Root four years ago because he thought the English batsman was mocking Hashim Amla.

Ricky Ponting

The former Australia captain, unsmiling and thorough, was made a figure of fun over his fallings but he made sure to bounce back with bitter confrontation.

The man behind England’s untold suffering lost dignity in defeat on numerous occasions and was shamelessly ridiculed.

In 2006-07, he destroyed Andrew Flintoff and led Australia to a 5-0 whitewash, first Ashes clean sweep in last 81 years, as an act of revenge for England’s win in 2005.

During the 2009 Ashes Test in Edgbaston, skipper Ponting and his team were booed as they made their way to the crease during the course of the Third Test.

Similar scenes took place at Lord’s and Cardiff as well and one of the worst incidents of crowd mockery came when Ponting was subject to endless jeers at Lord’s as the big screen repeated his dropped catch off Ravi Bopara in England’s second innings.

Mitchell Johnson

With his pace and aggression, Australian pacer Mitchell Johnson instilled fear in the minds of the English batsmen during the 2013-14 Ashes and brought back memories of the Lillee-Thomson era.

Johnson, Australia's wrecker-in-chief in the last home series, struggled in his first two editions as he was unable to control his line and leaking runs.

In 2010-11, Johnson was on the receiving end as England’s Barmy Army sang a song about his unruly Ashes spells, saying that he bowls to the left and to the right and calling his bowling “shite”.

In his 10-year career, Johnson picked 313 wickets in 73 Tests, but the crowning moment of his career came when he devastated England with 37 wickets during the 5-0 whitewash in 2013/14.

It was the most by a fast bowler in The Ashes since 1981.

Jeff Thomson

With a firing sling-shot action riddled with hatred for batsmen, Jeff Thomson was the most dreaded fast bowler to walk the face of the earth.

At his peak, no one came close to matching Thomson. "Ashes to Ashes, dust to dust, If Lillee doesn’t get you, Thommo must", went the popular undersong.

During his illustrious international career that began in 1973 and ended in 1985, he enjoyed hitting batsmen more than getting them out.

During the 1974-75 Ashes series, Thommo and his accomplice Dennis Lillee torpedoed England, claiming 58 wickets between them.

In a fast bowling contest in 1978, he outpaced Michael Holding and Imran Khan.

West Indies' legend Viv Richards, the best batsman of Thomson’s era, rates him as the fastest he has faced.

Dennis Lillee

Dennis Lillee was a menacing presence on the field

Known for his fierce on-field presence, Dennis Lillee was the other half of the fearsome Lillee-Thompson duo.

The sight of this huge 6 feet tall, wide chested, wild-haired guy in a white open-collared shirt, running to the crease made even the great batsman weak in their knees.

The ferociously fast young West Australian bowler made his Test debut, aged 21, against England in the Adelaide Test in January 1971.

He dismantled England during the Ashes tour of 1972, taking 31 wickets at an average of 17.67.

During the 1974-75 Ashes, Thommo and Lillee combined forces, claiming 58 wickets between them.

The former Australian tearaway, who told Sachin Tendulkar to ditch bowling and focus on batting, claimed 355 wickets in 70 Tests and could dismiss a batsman with his sheer presence.