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Australian legend Rod Marsh’s famous one liner ‘so how’s your wife and my kids’ voted best cricket sledge of all time

England and their fierce rivals are tied with 32 Ashes wins each but an Australian was voted to have the best sledge of all time while an Englishman came in second

ROD MARSH'S famous line 'so how's your wife and my kids' has taken the title of the best cricket sledge of all time.

That's according to 1,000 cricket fans who were polled by the ice cream sandwich company Maxibon to launch their first sponsorship of the Yorkshire Vikings T20.

 Rod Marsh's one-liner to Ian Botham 'so how's your wife and my kids?' topped the poll as the best sledge of all time
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Rod Marsh's one-liner to Ian Botham 'so how's your wife and my kids?' topped the poll as the best sledge of all timeCredit: Getty Images
 Rod Marsh ironically ended up becoming a coach for the ECB this side of the world when he helped England challenge Australia's dominance
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Rod Marsh ironically ended up becoming a coach for the ECB this side of the world when he helped England challenge Australia's dominanceCredit: Getty Images

The former Australian wicket-keeper used the line to intimidate England's Ian Botham in the 1986-87 Ashes test.

But Botham struck back with a witty line of his own responding 'Wife is fine, kids are r******d.'

Englishman James Ormond took the runner up spot with his trash talk aimed at Australia's Mark Waugh.

As Ormond arrived at the crease Waugh asked 'What are you doing out here? There's no way you're good enough to play for England.'

But Ormond came back with the burn saying 'Maybe not, but at least I'm the best player in my own family' in reference to his brother and captain of the Australian team Steve.

Rounding out the top three was an exchange between South African Daryll Cullinan and Australian Shane Warne.

 James Ormond's comeback to Mark Waugh came second in the poll by Maxibon the new sponsors of the Yorkshire Vikings T20
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James Ormond's comeback to Mark Waugh came second in the poll by Maxibon the new sponsors of the Yorkshire Vikings T20Credit: PA:Press Association
 Australia's Shane Warne tried to burn South African Daryll Cullinan but ended up getting scolded himself
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Australia's Shane Warne tried to burn South African Daryll Cullinan but ended up getting scolded himselfCredit: Reuters

Warne told Cullinan he'd been waiting two years for another chance to humiliate him.

Cullinan replied 'Looks like you spent it eating.'

Maxibon's research revealed hitting a six was the most exciting element of cricket.

But a fifth of fans said watching the players sledging each other was their favourite part.

That reflects life off the cricket pitch with over half that were polled admitting to regularly joking around with friends and family.

The banter isn't avoided in the workplace either showing it's not just the cricketers who like to get digs in at their colleagues.

 Andrew Flintoff's 'Watch the windows, Tino' also made the list
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Andrew Flintoff's 'Watch the windows, Tino' also made the listCredit: PA:Press Association

The poll also revealed that men are better than women at sledging.

Susanne Frecker at Maxibon wanted the research to find out what cricket fans really felt about sledging.

She said the fans agreed with the new sponsors that sledging is a fun part of the game that sets it apart from other sports.

Other classic one-liners included:

  • Andrew Flintoff (England) and Tino Best (West Indies): 'Watch the windows, Tino.'
  • Merv Hughes (Australia) vs Robin Smith (England): 'If you turn the bat over you'll get the instructions mate.'
  • Viv Richards (West Indies) and Merv Hughes (Australia): 'Let's see you hit that to the boundary!'
  • Glen McGrath (Australia) and Eddo Brandes (Zimbabwe): 'Why are you so fat?'
  • Dennis Lilllee (Australia) sledging the world: 'I can see why you are batting so badly, you've got some **** on the end of your bat.'
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