Stuart Broad senses England can inspire a nation in the Ashes akin to the class of 2005 but he is desperate to avoid a repeat of the grandstand Edgbaston finale from 18 years ago.
A mouthwatering final day awaits in this LV= Insurance series curtain-raiser as England require seven more wickets to draw first blood against Australia, who closed on 107 for three in pursuit of 281.
The target is one run fewer than what Australia were set in one of the greatest Tests of all-time at this venue, when Ricky Ponting’s tourists fell two runs short in a nerve-shredding denouement.
While Broad believes England can rouse the country across this summer’s five much-anticipated Tests, he is keeping everything crossed they can draw first blood long before any crescendo is reached.
“You can tell this group is massively inspired and motivated by that series,” Broad said. “It’s great the series are being related because 2005 inspired our group to want to play and win Ashes series.
“Honestly as a group we’ve got so much energy around, we can feel the energy of the country. Each player has had a lot more messages and a lot more engagement from friends of the Ashes coming around.
“To have this series being talked about in the same sort of sentences as ’05 gives us a huge boost. If the series can be half as good as that one I think we’ll be inspiring the nation.
“But I’m not sure we want (this Test) going to two runs (on Tuesday). Hopefully, it doesn’t get as close as that and we get a few wickets early because that won’t do much for the heart, will it?”
Broad was 19 and in his first season with Leicestershire when England levelled the Ashes in Birmingham in 2005 and the fast bowler admitted he finds watching from the sidelines more anxious than playing.
“I remember watching it almost like hiding behind the sofa,” he added. “I find it really difficult to watch and now I’ve played a lot of tight games myself, it’s way harder watching than playing.
“It’s weird. You feel the nerves and the anxiety way more when you can’t control anything about it. When you’re involved in the game you’re just focused on your style and your process.”
After England were all out for 273, David Warner and Usman Khawaja, a first-innings centurion, helped Australia off to an ideal start with a half-century opening partnership on a lifeless surface.
While Warner escaped the clutches of his nemesis Broad this time, he was out for 36 after nicking off to Ollie Robinson. But there was no keeping Broad out of the game as he kissed the outside edges of Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith, ranked respectively at one and two in the Test batting rankings.
“It’s all set up to be a fantastic day,” Broad said. “We’re obviously delighted to have Warner, Marnus and Smith back in the pavilion because they’re world class players.
“But we know the Aussies have got a lot of danger to come so we’ve got to be right on the money.
“I don’t think any batter is going to come in and say it’s a fantastic pitch to bat on. It’s turgid and hard to time the ball on. And no bowler’s going to say it’s not carrying or moving particularly.
“It’s a hard working pitch, you’ve got to create pressure and hit the pitch as hard as you can.”
There is rain forecast for Tuesday which could add another layer of drama to proceedings while Moeen Ali seemed inhibited by the blister on his spinning finger on Monday – although he bowled seven overs.
“I think Mo’s fine,” Broad added. “He’s got a bit of a gouge out of his finger but he’s doing as much as he can to heal that and deal with the pain.
“Hopefully, as a seamers’ group we can help him out a bit by taking some early poles in the first hour.”
Australia, meanwhile, will be attempting to banish the ghosts of 2005 at a sold-out Edgbaston, with off-spinner Nathan Lyon quipping there are constant reminders of what occurred.
“I’ve obviously seen the game,” he said. “It’s always on Sky Sports here in England. They only seem to have a couple on replay!
“This is the type of cricket we want to play. We want to play in tight series, it’s exciting to be a part of.”
Asalanka leads Sri Lanka to ODI series win over West Indies
Sri Lanka wrapped up the ODI series against the West Indies with a five-wicket victory in Pallekele.
The hosts successfully chased down their opponents' total of 189, giving them an unassailable 2-0 in the three-match series.
Sri Lanka controlled the early powerplay - Asitha Fernando (3-35) and Maheesh Theekshana (3-25) took two wickets apiece to leave the tourists at 31-4 in the ninth over.
Wanindu Hasaranga (4-40) then claimed three of his four wickets as Roston Chase, Romario Shepherd, Hayden Walsh and Alzarri Joseph were all dismissed in the space of 14 balls.
However, Sherfane Rutherford (80 off 82 balls) and Gudakesh Motie (50 not out) steadied the ship to take the Windies from 58-8 to 189.
Although Joseph claimed Avishka Fernando (9) in the fourth over, Nishan Madushka and Sadeera Samarawickrama both chipped in with contributions of 38 to get the hosts to 112-4.
Skipper Charith Asalanka (62 not out) led the charge thereon, while Kamindu Mendis (11) comfortably got them over the line with 34 balls remaining.
Data Debrief: Rutherford-Motie historic stand proves academic for tourists
West Indies were looking to level the series, but their hopes were not aided by Sri Lanka's impressive bowling.
Rutherford and Motie did their best. Their partnership brought 119 runs, which is their nation's highest ninth-wicket stand in ODI history, breaking the previous record of 85 between Yannic Cariah and Alzarri Joseph.
However, it ultimately proved in vain as the hosts secured the series with a game to spare.
'I was a tired, grumpy old man' - Stokes apologised to England team-mates after Pakistan defeat
Ben Stokes says he apologised to his England team-mates after his frustrations were evident during the second-Test defeat by Pakistan.
The hosts levelled the three-Test series on Thursday after wrapping up a 152-run win in Multan.
However, it could have been a different story but for fielding errors at crucial stages for the visitors, Jamie Smith and Joe Root notably dropping catches to dismiss Salman Agha, whose subsequent knock of 63 helped Pakistan seal victory with a day to spare.
Stokes, who returned to action following a hamstring injury, could not hide his frustration during a difficult day for England, but insisted he would not let his emotions get the better of him again.
"No one means to drop catches, but it just proves how important catches are in these subcontinent conditions, they don't come along that often," he told Sky Sports.
"I actually apologised to the group last night. It's the first time in my captaincy that I've let my emotions and how I was feeling with the way the game was unfolding show in my body language.
"I owned up to that and was very annoyed at myself for letting that out. It's something that I don't want to do or be seen to be doing, so I apologised to the group about that.
"Poor old me, I was a tired, grumpy old man last night! You won't see that happen again."
However, England coach Brendon McCullum defended the actions of his skipper.
"We all know how passionate Ben is, how much it means for him to play for England," he said.
"We've seen that through his bloody-mindedness to get back from injury, which was significant, and to do so in a nine-week timeframe and to have his first TM [Test match] in extreme conditions, 40 degrees, and be able to give what he gave to the side.
"I think, maybe, that's where some of that frustration led to - certainly, it wasn't directed at any of the players. It was more about trying to assess the rhythm of the game, and to impact on it."
Sri Lanka breeze to series win over West Indies
Sri Lanka cruised to a nine-wicket victory over West Indies to seal a T20I series triumph.
With the series delicately poised at 1-1 heading into the final match on Thursday, Sri Lanka started with intent in Dambulla.
Maheesh Theekshana (2-19) and Wanindu Hasaranga (2-24) led the charge as Sri Lanka skittled through the Windies' top order.
Rovman Powell's stubborn 37 and a contribution of 32 from Gudakesh Motie steered West Indies to a reasonable total of 162-8, but it was one well within reach of Sri Lanka.
Pathum Nissanka clipped seven fours and one six in a 22-ball 37 to get Sri Lanka's chase rolling at pace, before he was bowled by Gudakesh Mottie (1-31).
Yet the damage was mostly done, with Kusal Mendis powering his way to an unbeaten 68 and Kusal Perera plundering 55 from 36 balls to get the job done with the minimum of fuss.
Data Debrief: Perera closing in on Sri Lanka record
Perera is now just nine runs away from surpassing Tillakaratne Dilshan (1,889) as the leading scorer in Sri Lanka's T20I history.
His efforts, combined with those of Nissanka and Mendis, saw Sri Lanka win for a fourth time in their last six T20Is at Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium, although this is the first time they have won at the venue in that run when batting second.
The Windies' miserable record in Asia has continued, meanwhile. They have won only one of their last 11 T20Is in Asia (L10), with that victory coming in the first match of this series. They have now lost 33 T20Is on the continent in total, with only Ireland (35) having lost more.
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