Will it be all right on the day-night?
Broad admits nerves over pink-ball Test
STUaRT BROaD admits he will be stepping into the unknown this week when he uses a pink ball while trying to surpass Sir Ian Botham’s tally of Test wickets.
Broad needs just five more victims to top Botham’s mark of 383 — an England record until Jimmy anderson went past it two years ago.
anderson is now closing in on 500 and Broad, his partner in England’s greatest new-ball combination, looks to achieve a special landmark of his own in Thursday’s day-night opening Test against West Indies at Edgbaston.
Broad is feeling apprehensive about his quest and admitted: ‘I just don’t know what to expect.’
Before last night’s England practice session at Edgbaston Broad had bowled only one delivery with the pink Duke ball and he said: ‘This is a step into the unknown.
‘I’ve tried speaking to people about it and the county players who used it earlier this season said it didn’t shine up very well at all and went soft very quickly. It’s going to be a learning experience and it’s quite nerve-racking.
‘We’re playing with something that is completely new to us but we will still have to stamp our authority on West Indies. This will really open the series up.’
England’s big two now have 866 Test wickets between them — with 720 of them coming in the 94 matches they have played together — and looked as potent as ever in their opening second-innings spell in the final Test against South africa. Could they take their tally to the magic 1,000 figure?
‘That would be pretty special,’ said Broad at the launch of the three-Test Investec series, ‘ but we’ll have to see how long the old bloke wants to go on for!
‘Jimmy is bowling brilliantly and I want him to carry on as long as possible. You don’t get many bowlers playing on until 37 or 38 these days but Jimmy is a bit of a freak in that he’s incredibly fit and has such an ease to his action.
‘The ashes this winter mean so much to me that I don’t want to look beyond that but we know if we start with Jimmy in the first Test at the Gabba we’ll have a better chance of winning in australia.’
and the 31-year- old Broad is hoping his 35- year- old strike partner shelves any thoughts he has of becoming England’s playerbowling coach, as revealed by
Sportsmail last week, if Ottis Gibson leaves for South africa.
‘We were both in our dressing room at Old Trafford saying to (assistant coach) Paul Farbrace, “Come on, put a good word in and we’ll both take on the bowling coaching,” taking the mickey really,’ said Broad. ‘But probably Jimmy got on to andrew Strauss ( director of England cricket) straight afterwards saying he wanted the gig!
‘Jimmy is a bit of a bowling coach round the group anyway. assuming Ottis leaves, I think you need someone who’s not playing to bounce ideas off.
‘We’re very lucky in that we have an experienced bowling unit who take control of the meetings and so on. It would be very hard for a Test bowler to suddenly be in a management meeting on a Tuesday when he wants to be on the golf course relaxing.
‘I’d prefer Jimmy to be taking the new ball at Brisbane in the first ashes Test fully focused on that role.’
Before the Gabba comes a series England are expected to win comfortably when Broad will have a golden opportunity to breeze past Botham’s old record against an inexperienced West Indies.
‘He’s the biggest player English cricket ever had and, having got to know him more in the last four or five years, he’s an absolutely top guy too,’ said Broad of Botham.
‘You realise how much he wants England to do well. We’ve invited him into the changing room and he’s become close to the team. He wants us to improve and be competitive.
‘I’ve got a lot of respect for anyone who’s done what he has against australia. He’s been an inspiration to me.’
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