England’s array of fast bowlers and a large group of young fighters coming through means a test side is well placed at the start of a challenging 2021 record that could feature up to 17 test matches and ending with Ashes
Last updated: 07/01/21 9:29 pm
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Stuart Broad is excited about England’s plans for 2021, which could feature 17 Tests
Stuart Broad is excited about England’s plans for 2021, which could feature 17 Tests
England’s talented team is building a force to compete for the ashes in Australia next winter, says Stuart Broad.
Joe Root’s side will end with a year full of jam that could feature 17 Tests with a trip to Australia, where England lost 5-0 and 4-0 on their last two goals in 2013 / 14 and 2017/18 respectively.
Series against Sri Lanka, India (twice) and New Zealand – subject to confirmation – before that challenge and Broad told Hussain and Main Cricket Show that England is in a “very good place”.
“What’s interesting for England is that it’s almost like an army of fast archers and a good group of young fighters coming through,” Broad said, ahead of next week’s first Test in Sri Lanka.
“You watch the Test series come up and you have the banks like Ben Stokes and Joe Root, who get a good score for you on a regular basis but then you have boys with consistently good records in the making. get big scratches like Dom Sibley, Ollie Pope, Zak Crawley coming through.
“You don’t expect a huge amount of these people in Test cricket but they deliver huge hundreds. That’s a great place for the Test side to be.”
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England begin the Test year without the services of Ben Stokes and runner Jofra Archer, while opener Rory Burns is present to give birth to his first child and the Pope continues continue overcoming shoulder work.
Broad said the squad changes allow some emerging players in England to push their long-term applications for a test spot.
“In my little bubble here in Sri Lanka I have been bowling in the nets with Saqib Mahmood and Ollie Stone,” he said.
1:33 England’s Stuart Broad says fellow sailors Saqib Mahmood and Ollie Stone have beaten him ahead of the first Test against Sri Lanka
“They both offer very different things. A stone is very nimble and turns the ball away nicely and bowls a very heavy ball.
“Saqib still has a very good pace but he has different skills with background skills and he’s still developing. Those two have got a lot of talent. They’re the two I’ve seen the most in months gone. “
But James Anderson, a long-time and full-time opening partner with the full prospect of leading the England attack, is coming to the Ashes in the winter and the former says India have some offer signals in their regular series against Australia on how to lift the weight of Down Under.
“India has been playing great cricket there and when I looked at bowling in particular they have taken control of their level of economy,” Broad said.
14:08 Stuart Broad talks about his innovative career after taking his 500th Test wicket to England
“It looks like they have bowled really tight with the new ball and kept that weight from 10-30 overs and once you get a wicket, Australia are only 60 or 70-3 instead of climbing up at three and a half-over.
“If you can keep your economy levels at a level or two and a half over you can lift weights that way.”
It is 10 years since England won a famous 3-1 victory in Australia behind a spectacular batting display featuring hundreds from Alastair Cook (three), Jonathan Trott (two), Ian Bell, Kevin Pietersen, Matt Prior and Andrew Strauss.
2:16 We look through some of Stuart Broad’s favorite moments on his journey to reach the 500 wicket Test
Broad played two tests in that campaign and proved to him that the bats must run on board for all the damage done by archers in Australia.
“But you win in Australia by getting big scratches – 350 won’t win you a test match there. You have to go ahead and get 430, 470, 500,” he said.
“The 2010/11 trip was a prime example; look at how many English bats hundreds got there. It was great to watch.
“I have a real sense that this English Test team is building a batting line that can go in and compete in Australia and score hundreds and hundreds of first innings. any bowling attack can make a bowl.
“It’s very likely that you’re going to use the same bowling attack for five Tests over there – you can turn people around and keep them fresh – but if your battery can regularly stick out 400, that’s you are going to put pressure on that Australian. batting line-up. “
9:39 A look back at James Anderson’s career so far as the first sailor to reach the 600 wicket Test
Anderson scored 24 scalps on the 2010/11 tour but was quick to point out the impact of Graeme Swann’s 15 wick on the tour and said the spinner’s place is still important.
“If you look at Australia’s success, sailors will get the strings more often than just look at the work that Nathan Lyon does.
“He holds up an end and takes wickets in the second innings if the pitch declines. Likewise with India – Ashwin has been heavily involved in this series, partly in a career grip and partly as an offensive role as the wicket receded.
“So it’s the balance of everything. We need to make sure we have all the foundations covered and we have that at the moment. We’re lucky to have some really good archers and I’m I believe that it ‘s just about getting the balance right once we see the wickets we face. “
Watch the first Test between Sri Lanka and England live on Sky Sports Cricket from 4am on Thursday 14 January and follow the action across our digital platforms.