STUART BROAD EXCLUSIVE
Super Sam and Jimmy turned tide for us... this could be a classic series!
Super Sam turned the tide in our nerviest Test since Trent Bridge in 2013
WHAT a game that was. For sheer nerves out in the middle, the only match I’ve played in that compares with it was our 14- run win over Australia at Trent Bridge in 2013. This one had everything — and it was a superb advert for Test cricket.
I’ve rarely played in a Test where both sides have fought so constantly for the initiative. I must admit, I thought it was probably game over before Sam Curran’s brilliant 63 from No 8 in our second innings, which really changed the momentum. From there, we gave ourselves a chance — and took it brilliantly.
Yesterday morning when the big screen confirmed that Virat Kohli really was lbw to Ben Stokes, you could see the emotion on the faces of the players and the fans. I’m not sure you get that with Twenty20!
EDGBASTON EXPERIENCE
WHEN Jimmy Anderson and I opened the bowling in India’s second innings on Friday afternoon, the roar of the crowd was something else. The fans were on a high after Sam’s knock, and it was the loudest I’ve heard at a ground since S t e v e n F i n n ’s spell against Australia at Edgbaston in 2015.
It was a privilege to be out there, and it was fun revving the spectators up, not that they need much excuse in the Hollies Stand.
I was pleased to play my part after not feeling great in the first innings, and it was great to knock over both openers.
Who knows, if KL Rahul’s inside edge had knocked over leg stump rather than flying just past it, I might have got on one of my rolls. The exciting thing about this lineup is that we have a few bowlers who can take two or three wickets in a spell. And Joe Root used us all very intelligently, bringing on Adil Rashid, for instance, against India’s tail. We’ve got plenty of bases covered, and that’s a great place to be.
OLD MAN RIVER
THAT was a wonderful spell of bowling from Jimmy either side of lunch on the second day. To get through what was basically 15 overs without much of a break spoke volumes for his fitness and skill, and he would have had the wicket of Kohli off his last ball but for a dropped catch.
It would have been no less than Jimmy deserved. If that catch had been taken, we’d be sitting here probably talking about one of the great spells, and the debate about Kohli’s struggles in English conditions might have continued into Lord’s. As it was, Kohli reminded everyone what a world-class player he is. Even when Stokesy did him for pace in the second innings, I still wasn’t quite sure we were over the line.
But when Ben got Mohammed Shami moments later, with India still needing more than 50, we knew that two balls would be enough to finish things off.
It goes without saying that we’ll miss Stokesy at Lord’s, and he reminded everyone in this game that he has the heart of a lion. But we’ve won without him before, and we’ll head to Lord’s full of confidence that we can do so again.
ALL ABOUT CHARACTER
I’VE always believed that the single most important quality of a Test cricketer is his character, and Sam Curran has it in spades.
Runs and wickets are important, obviously, but the ability to step up when your team needs you most is invaluable, and Sam did it twice in this game. And don’t forget it was only his second Test.
The first instance came after India had reached 50 without loss in their first innings and we really needed a breakthrough. Sam had the courage to aim full, which allowed him to swing it into the right-handers.
Suddenly he’d got three wickets in eight balls, and the game had turned on its head.
Then there was that knock in the second innings. Apart from being a brilliant innings in its own right, it gave us belief going into the fourth innings.
There’s a world of difference between defending 120, when you need absolutely everything to go right, and defending 190, when you can absorb a couple of partnerships and keep a boundary rider or two to keep down the runs.
Sam’s innings allowed us to both attack and defend in India’s second innings, and that ended up being the key to victory.
ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT
WE’RE always l ooking t o get better, and — as Jimmy said on Friday night — it’s pretty clear that we need to hold on to more slip catches. That aspect of our game has to improve very quickly.
We also had a strange knack in this game of losing wickets just before intervals. At one point on the third day, we lost three in an over either side of lunch to Ishant Sharma, so we probably need to be on our guard in that respect.
We just need to make sure we keep up the pressure on their batsmen.
I don’t buy the argument that they’re a one-man team: look at the records of their top order and you can see why India are No 1 in the rankings. But only Kohli passed 31 in this game for them, and it’s up to us at Lord’s to keep it that way.
ONE LAST THOUGHT
THIS was England’s 1,000th men’s Test, so I’m really happy it got the game to suit the occasion.
Let’s be honest, it could easily have been us in the dressing room after the game wondering how we let it slip, and that’s testament to the tension out there.
It’s the oldest of clichés, but cricket really was the winner. If this game was anything go to by, this series could go down as one of the classics.