Clarke has defended his comments to England's Jimmy Anderson during the final moments of the Test, when he told him to expect a broken arm as he prepared to face fast bowler Mitchell Johnson.
Australia's emphatic 381-run win in Brisbane ended on a spiteful note, and English captain Alastair Cook says he's prepared to accept "war" on the field.
ABC Radio's veteran cricket commentator, Jim Maxwell, believes the game would be better off without such outbursts, as he told Jill Emberson from 1233 ABC Newcastle Mornings.
"I think emotions were running pretty high and Australia wanted to finish England off, as it were," Jim says.
"We've had a little bit of this going on during the game, particularly during yesterday's play when Mitchell Johnson was serving it up.
"It seems to be accepted these days that that sort of behaviour is part and parcel of the game.
"I think the game would be better off without it."
Jim says while a bit of passion is fine, yesterday's exchange was a little unnecessary and over-the-top.
"And the fact that the effects microphone's of course picking everything up only worsens it," he says.
"But then there'll be plenty of people listening who'll just consider it part of the game.
"It's how Australia plays, it's trying to grind the opposition into the ground.
"It's the way we've been doing it for a while, and some other teams give as good as they get, South Africa in particular."
Jim says the Australians have become known for their habit of sledging their opponents.
"We've got a reputation, yes, for treading on the opposition in various ways when we get in front and perhaps it's been a bit overt at various stages over the last 40 years and it may have been momentarily yesterday," he says.
"Unfortunately these days everyone thinks it's just part of the professional edge."
According to Jim the bitter feelings we're witnessing have their origins in Australia's last Ashes tour to England.
"Just at the moment there's a fair bit of payback going on with what happened in England, where Australia felt that the pitches were doctored to try and nullify quality quick bowling.
"Now that England's here on a bouncy pitch they've given them something they've been waiting to serve up for a while."
Jim says Mitchell Johnson has been the architect of that with his "raw, quick pace".
"That was as menacing a display of fast bowling as we've seen from Australia since Lillee and Thompson in the seventies," he says.
Jim believes the sledging is all part of a strategy.
"I think Australia felt that if they were going to win this series they needed to express themselves in a robust and aggressive way at the start of the series.
"It seems as though everyone now condones this behaviour from Australians on the field, even those in charge and that is a worry."
The Grandstand commentator says it's up to the captains to deal with the situation if it arises again.
"Hopefully Michael Clarke will cool off a little bit from yesterday and just go about his business in the more modest way that a lot of us would appreciate, but I don't think that's going to happen."
You can hear Jim and his fellow commentators call every ball of the second Test live from Adelaide on 1233 ABC Newcastle from December 5. And don't forget, you can still hear your regular 1233 programs via online streaming from our website abc.net.au/newcastle, or by downloading the ABC Radio app.
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