If you've never heard of the Bodyline then you should look it up ... there was serious aggravation on that tour of 1932/33 as England skipper Douglas Jardine instructed his fast bowlers to aim at the batsmen's body on the leg-stump side.
The injuries were unpleasant, to say the least, and the fall-out was explosive. It coined the most wonderful summation that "there are two teams out there ... one is playing cricket".
The crowds booed the Englishmen every time a ball was bowled, and sledging began, although the main source of it was from the crowd.
Like the gnarled old digger who spotted Jardine flicking a fly away from his face.
He yelled at him to leave the Aussie flies alone. "They're the only friends you've got."
I don't think the players themselves said a lot out there on the field.
If they did it was certainly not with some of the venom they swap these days.
In the first of the Ashes series clashes last month at the Gabba in Brisbane the Aussie skipper, Michael Clarke, suggested to one of the English batsmen that a broken arm was coming his way.
He said it loudly and it was caught on the microphone behind the stumps so the audience of several million around the world got to hear it too.
Mitchell Johnson, who is looking unsettlingly more and more like one of the members of the Village People, has also honed the art of sledging, although most of his work is in the visuals department: that snarling grimace and glaring looks back over his shoulder.
No, essentially it's not cricket, but it is now a firm part of the game and can actually be quite entertaining if it isn't taken to extremes.
And the ultimate irony is that there are more glares and general verbal aggression than you get in the ultimate contact sport of rugby.
The Ashes series has been explosive and good television and despite the fact it's kind of a one-way street in terms of results so far it is a good watch ... if you are inclined towards cricket, of course.
Meanwhile, the Black Caps have been jousting with a seriously under-prepped and underwhelming West Indies side and while the results have swung our way it just hasn't had the spark.
The sight of a packed and vocal WACA in Perth over the past few days sort of made the sparsely scattered inhabitants of the Basin Reserve look all rather sad.
Maybe the arrival of the top-flight Indian side early next year will ignite the season, but until then it's the weary Windies for us. Maybe our boys should just start yelling at them ... that could fire up the ratings, and the series, especially if they start yelling back.
Apart from cicadas and ants in the pantry cricket today is a celebration of summer.
When things start getting sticky the heat comes on and everything boils over.
International Cricket: NZ vs West Indies, Sky Sport 1 from 10am Thursday: It is day one of the third test in a series which has so far proved just too easy for anyone to get all excited about. It's nice to win, but not with the ease in which we won in Wellington.
Even the commentary teams seemed under-awed by it all, whereas the Aussie crews were joining their colleagues on the field and doing some sledging from the box. They nailed umpire Billy Bowden several times. Billy's a Kiwi ... funny that.
