Cricket Australia is investigating vice captain David Warner after CCTV footage showed him in an off-field confrontation with South African wicketkeeper Quinten de Kock.
Warner had to be restrained by teammates Usman Khawaja and captain Steve Smith as the teams walked upstairs to the change rooms during a tea break on day four of the first test in Durban.
A number of media outlets are reporting Warner's behaviour was in response to a comment made about his ironwoman wife, Candice.
During an hour-long sledging on the field, Warner made reference to de Kock's mother and sister, according to South Africa's Independent Online.
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Australian captain Steve Smith has admitted the incident was "regrettable".
"What was said and done during that interval was regrettable on both sides. I think those things are not on, from both sides," Smith said
"Getting personal on the field is not on, that's crossing the line in my opinion."
Former Australian wicketkeeper-batsman Adam Gilchrist, ex-vice captain Shane Warne and past South African skipper Graeme Smith have all expressed their views on Twitter.
Repeat offenders
It is not the first time Warner has been accused of being overly aggressive.
Warner was suspended in 2013 for punching now England captain Joe Root and reportedly told Indian player Rohit Sharma to "speak English" during an One Day International in 2015.
Former Australian spin bowler Brad Hogg has told Fox Sports the current vice captain needs to work at keeping his emotions in check.
"If he's going to be a future leader he's got to be able to control his emotions," Hogg said.
"I don't care what's said out in the middle, you've got to be able to control those emotions and take the required steps off the field to sort it out - but not the way we've seen it now. It's not a good look for the game."
Sledging has got a lot of Australian cricketers in trouble over the years, with notorious incidents involving Pakistan's Javed Miandad, the West Indies' Curtly Ambrose and India's Harbhajan Singh.
Steve Smith and Usman Khawaja restrain David Warner as Australia and South Africa break for tea. Source: AAP
Current South African captain Faf du Plessis agrees Australia's aggressive reputation precedes them.
"Every single match that I've played against Australia you expect it, so I'm certainly not sitting here complaining about [the Warner incident]," he said.
But despite the history, Smith says there is no problem with the sport's culture.
"I think that's the way we play our best cricket, when we're aggressive, we're in the fight together, we're hunting as a pack and we're working for each other and backing out mates up on the field," he said.
"That's part of being an Australian in my opinion."
Cricket Australia has confirmed it is looking into the Warner incident. Source: Reuters
The prevalence of sledging within Australian cricket has been the subject of an investigation a number of times.
Most recently, a 2016 coronial inquest into the death of batsman Phillip Hughes - who died at the crease after being struck on the head by the ball - found sledging played no part in the tragedy, though said the line of good taste in on-field chat is difficult to define.
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