Stuart Broad is gearing up to “go to battle” with long-time adversary David Warner in this summer’s Ashes, admitting he cannot kick his addiction to Test cricket.
Broad and Warner have faced off against each in 26 Tests dating back to 2013, with the Englishman dismissing the Australian 14 times – more than any other bowler on the planet.
Exactly half of those wickets came in the 2019 Ashes, when Broad swarmed the left-hander and removed him seven times in 10 innings as he averaged a miserable 9.5.
Broad also had the last laugh in their most recent head-to-head, condemning Warner to a duck in Hobart in a game that ended with both men pondering the end of their shared story.
They discussed the possibility over a post-series drink at the Bellerive Oval, but 18 months on they are set to slug it out again in the first Test at Edgbaston on June 16.
“I’m obviously looking forward to going to battle with Davey again. We’ve had incredible battles,” said Broad.
“I’m really looking forward to stepping on the field against him. I must admit, at the end of Hobart last time, we shared a glass of red and didn’t know if we would play against each other again. Hopefully we can.
“He had the better of me for quite a long period, got a hundred at Brisbane and at the WACA (in 2013) and, ultimately, the biggest praise I can give Davey is the fact I had to completely study him and change my style of bowling because of the success he had against me.
“He’s been a great competitor, someone I’ve really enjoyed playing against. He’s fiery, ferociously competitive, and those sorts of characters bring out the best in me as well.”
Broad readily admits the thrill of tussling with the best players the world has to offer is a habit he cannot kick, even after 161 caps and nearly 14 years at the highest level.
He accepts he is into the final chapter of his career, but while recent injury scares mean James Anderson and Ollie Robinson are both likely to be wrapped in cotton wool for next week’s Test against Ireland, Broad has made it clear he wants to lead the attack and has been invigorated by the leadership of coach Brendon McCullum and captain Ben Stokes.
“What do they call it, the twilight? It’s sort of the arse end of your career, isn’t it? But I’ve still got a great hunger,” he said.
“Ultimately I play sport and cricket for the competitive side. I love that competitive drive that bowling at a batter gives you. You beat the outside edge and there’s no win in that, but then you nip one back and it goes through the gate. Those sort of feelings are so addictive to me.
“The addiction to being in this changing room is quite strong. Credit to Rob Key (director of cricket), Baz McCullum and Stokesy – they’ve made everything about playing for England 10 out of 10. I am 36 turning 37 but I have always said if my competitive burn goes then I won’t be the cricketer I am, but my competitive burn is alive.”
Broad is known for his ability to conduct the crowd during key passages of play, often rallying support at the top of his mark, and enjoys fan favourite status for his ability to wind up the Australian contingent.
He has long been rewarded with a chant of “he’s big, he’s bad, he’s better than his dad” – a reference to father Chris, a distinguished opening batter and now ICC match referee.
Now the Barmy Army, together with Marmite, have ripped up the songbook and worked up a new song to the tune of Abba’s Voulez-Vous and Broad is eager to hear it belting out from the stands in the coming weeks.
“I played the song to my wife Mollie this morning. We’ve both been whistling the song all morning,” he said.
“I’m really looking forward to the Barmy Army singing it for the first time. I might speak to them and time it well, maybe when I get a wicket…that first Ashes Test at Edgbaston, it’s going to be electric.
“It’s good to lift my dad’s spirits too. He’s had long enough being told I’m better than him.”
A look at the numbers behind England’s opening partnerships
England go into an eagerly anticipated summer of Test cricket hoping Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley have finally solved their long-standing problems at the top of the order.
Duckett’s average of 56.44 is by far the highest of any England opener since Sir Alastair Cook’s retirement nearly five years ago, while his strike rate of 95.49 is arguably of even greater importance in the Brendon McCullum/Ben Stokes era.
He and Crawley average over 48 as a partnership, albeit in just five matches to date, and here the PA news agency looks at their record in contrast to what has gone before.
Immediate impactCrawley and Duckett’s first innings together set the bar high as they put on 233 against Pakistan in Rawalpindi in December.
Those runs came in just 35.4 overs at a rate of 6.7 per over as both men scored centuries – as did Ollie Pope and Harry Brook, all at over a run a ball apart from Duckett’s 107 from 110 balls.
It would be asking a lot for their partnership to live up to those heights since, and Duckett was dismissed first ball in the second innings, but in two of the four Tests since they have a fifty partnership to their name – 87 in Karachi and 52 against New Zealand at Mount Maunganui.
Even their 38 in Multan and 39 in Wellington would be an improvement on England’s average opening partnership of 28.40 since Cook retired, while their strike rate has settled at a still-impressive 5.70 per over.
The last five yearsDuckett is the 12th opener used by England in 56 Tests since Cook’s departure, with only five of those even averaging over 30.
His average is almost 10 runs clear of the field, though second is regular tail-ender Jack Leach whose 46.50 comes from scores of 92 and one in two innings as a nightwatchman. Captain Ben Stokes has no average as an opener, having scored 78 not out from 57 balls in his only innings.
Keaton Jennings, Joe Denly and Rory Burns average narrowly over 30 while Crawley is at 25.19, which also ranks him behind Dom Sibley. His strike rate of 57.90, while pedestrian by England’s new standard, ranks third in that time and rises to 83.47 in innings partnering Duckett.
Haseeb Hameed limped to an average of 19.18 and a strike rate of 30.80, Alex Lees was not much better at 23.84 and 43.06, Jason Roy made only 62 runs in seven innings and Jos Buttler was promoted once as a pinch-hitter but failed to score.
The only other post-Cook pairings to average even 30 are Burns’ partnerships with Hameed (39.14) and Crawley (35.00).
Long-term trendThe issue has existed even since the departure of Cook’s predecessor as captain, Sir Andrew Strauss, back in August 2012.
Cook averaged 42.52 from 144 innings in that time but only three other openers hit the 40 mark.
Encouragingly, one of those is Duckett with 46.15 for his full 14 innings as an international opener. His strike rate across that whole period sits at 89.55.
Joe Root spent 11 innings at the top of the order and while his average of 41.70 was more than creditable, it was well down on his overall Test average of 50.22. Leach is the third name on the list, in the two aforementioned innings.
On This Day in 2015: England captain reaches a significant milestone
Alastair Cook became England’s all-time leading Test run-scorer on this day in 2015, surpassing his own mentor Graham Gooch.
England’s then-Test captain set the new benchmark on the second afternoon of the second Test against New Zealand at Headingley when he square-drove Tim Southee for four to reach 33 in his 203rd innings – and 8,902 in aggregate.
Gooch’s haul of 8,900 had stood for 20 years as England’s historic benchmark, and Cook insisted before the start of this match that he would never consider himself in the class of the man who had taught him much of what he knew, through their close working relationship and friendship since his school days.
“It is a very special day for me personally,” he said. “I can’t really describe it, to be on top of the list. I don’t deserve to be there with the way I play.
“You don’t play for the records – but I know I needed 32 runs. But to break the record, you want to do it with an innings (that matters). It was an amazing moment, very humbling.”
Cook had endured a turbulent previous year-and-a-half, having overseen a 5-0 Ashes defeat, the end of Kevin Pietersen’s international career and lows in form in both Tests and one-day internationals that led to him being stripped as England captain in the latter format two months before the World Cup.
“The last 18 months have been tough personally as a captain,” Cook said after an innings of 75 against the Black Caps.
“A lot of stuff has gone on the last four or five months, but I have given time to my game and I feel like it is going well.”
Cook ended his international career in September 2018, having amassed 12,472 Test runs including 33 centuries – both a record for an England batter.
Lancashire slip to first defeat of Blast season against Birmingham
Lancashire suffered their first defeat of this season’s Vitality Blast as they slumped to a seven-wicket loss at Birmingham Bears on Monday.
The Lightning lost their last seven wickets for 36 runs in 35 balls as they were bowled out for just 98 at Edgbaston.
Spinners Danny Briggs and Dan Mousley did most of the damage, taking four for 15 and three for 13 respectively.
The Bears then eased to victory, maintaining their own 100 per cent record in the competition, with captain Alex Davies, formerly of Lancashire, hitting an unbeaten 51 from 39 balls.
Worcestershire claimed their third win from three outings as they saw off Leicestershire by 33 runs at New Road.
Kashif Ali top-scored with 69 – his maiden half-century in the Blast – as the Rapids posted 183 for seven from their 20 overs.
Leicestershire reached 70 for one in reply but then fell away as Brett D’Oliveira, Michael Bracewell and Usama Mir all took two wickets apiece and Pat Brown (three for 25) cut through the tail.
Northamptonshire claimed their first win as they beat Derbyshire by six wickets with 12 balls to spare at Derby.
Saif Zaib led them home with 37 not out from 32 balls while captain David Willey and Chris Lynn added 31 as the Steelbacks eased to their 152-run target.
Wayne Madsen had top-scored for Derbyshire with 57 and wicketkeeper Brooke Guest weighed in with 49.
Gloucestershire held on for a nail-biting two-run win over Middlesex in a high-scoring contest at Northwood.
Miles Hammond hit 59 from 42 balls and Grant Roelofsen 34 from 19 as Gloucestershire ran up 181 for nine from their 20 overs.
Stephen Eskinazi (59) and Joe Cracknell (42) got Middlesex off to a strong start in reply before Luke Hollman (39) and Ryan Higgins (24) took up the chase.
Seven runs were needed off the final over but Matt Taylor conceded just four with Higgins run out off the last ball.
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