NEWS
Follow UsThe Ashes is over a month away but the preparation for the same has already started. While the white-ball players are now engaged in their preparation for the lead up to the ICC T20 World Cup, the Test regulars are out there practising for the mega series. Stuart Broad, who hasn't played any great deal of cricket since being ruled out of the India series due to an injury, can't wait for the Ashes to start and analysing England's chances, he pointed that the Gabba holds the key to their success.
"We need our sole focus to be exceptional for Brisbane," Broad said. "The Gabba holds the key to the series because they've got a good record there. Admittedly they lost to India, but we need to start the series well and make sure that we're 100% on the money at Brisbane, because we can put this Australia team under pressure on the field, and off the field if we do our job really well to start. We'll be very well prepared for that."
In Ashes 2019, Broad had a complete wood over David Warner and the southpaw scored just 95 runs in 10 Test innings and Broad dismissed Warner seven out of 10 times. While Broad will be targeting Warner's front foot problem, he admitted that no one would really come with any sort of form given the absence of any red-ball cricket in the lead up to the series.
"As an opening bowler you're always targeting the opening batters and the top four, and Warner is a key part of that in Australia," Broad said. "But it's going to be a fascinating series, in the fact that no-one's really played any cricket. I don't see how anyone will be going into it in great form, so that means that, as a bowler, we should be really positive about exposing weaknesses if we're relentless.
"We often talk in England about express pace, but that's not what I'm seeing. It's about the relentlessness with the ball, being McGrath-like … not bowling bad balls, and releasing the pressure. Kyle Abbott and [Vernon] Philander have brilliant records there by bringing the stumps into play, and as a whole bowling unit, repeating it and repeating it for long periods of time. That's how you get success in Australia," Broad added.