Star duo deliver perfect riposte to their critics
Stuart Broad hit back at Michael Vaughan after helping England bowl out Pakistan for 174 on the first day of the crucial second test at Headingley.
Broad took exception to the former England captain’s comments after the capitulation at Lord’s, accusing him of having little insight into the England dressing room.
Vaughan was known as a motivator of men during his time as captain. and to judge by Broad’s performance here, he has retained the knack as a pundit.
He had used his newspaper column after the first test to float the idea of dropping either Broad or Jimmy anderson — by way of a ‘wake-up call’ for a team that was growing accustomed to defeat. Broad was unimpressed.
‘I’m friends with Vaughany,’ he said. ‘He was a fantastic captain to me. But I called him to express my disappointment. It did anger me a little bit, because I thought it was a bit unfair and targeted.
‘Only two tests ago I got eight wickets in Christchurch, and I’ve been beating the bat regularly. I’m very open to criticism, and I’m not going to hold a personal grudge. But I just didn’t feel like I really deserved that.’
Broad, who took three for 38 as Pakistan were bowled out for 174, was asked whether Vaughan’s remarks might have been motivated by a desire to snap England out of a supposed dressing-room cosiness, rather than intended as a personal attack.
Broad replied: ‘I don’t think he’s got much insight into the England changing room. the players don’t talk much to him about what’s going on.
‘It put me under more pressure, but part of our job is being able to deliver under pressure.’ In that respect, Vaughan (below) could argue that his comments — which also earned a friendly rebuke on twitter from anderson’s wife Daniella — might have had their desired effect. But Broad also instantly realised the need to bowl a fuller length when it became clear Headingley was in a swingfriendly mood. In his first over he had Imam- ul- Haq flashing to third slip. In his fifth he trapped azhar ali with one that nipped back. after lunch, he pinned usman Salahuddin. It helped that, since tweaking the position of his wrist after the ashes, he has been more naturally inclined to a fuller length anyway, since he is more confident of landing the ball on the seam and finding late movement.
anderson was slower to adapt, but the lunch break brought a change of tack. He aimed full, bowling Sarfraz, then trapping Faheem with a beauty. By the end of the innings, he and Broad shared 952 test wickets, cementing their status as the most prolific opening partnership in the history of the game. try dropping them now.
‘at this level you’ve always got a point to prove,’ said Broad. ‘as a team we didn’t do ourselves justice at Lord’s. But we trained very specifically here at Headingley. For that to show through was great.’