Stuart Broad is up to his mind game tricks again in the lead-up to the Ashes, returning serve at Mitchell Starc after the Australia fast bowler rubbished the England veteran’s bizarre “void series” claim.
Broad has been needling the Australians for years and has upped his pre-Ashes campaign in recent weeks, highlighted by his suggestion that the 2021-22 contest was a “void series” because the touring English team had to put up with COVID-19 restrictions on tour.
Starc treated the idea with disdain by telling The Sydney Morning Herald that Broad’s claims didn’t hold much water, likening the England team’s set-up to a luxury holiday.
And off-spinner Nathan Lyon backed up his left-arm quick by telling The Today Show that he thought that Broad’s assessment of the previous series was “absolute rubbish”.
“The funniest thing out of that was they called it quarantine on the Gold Coast,” Starc told the SMH. “I did seven of them. That was the easiest by a country mile.
“The Poms had the pool, the gym, they were in a resort on the Gold Coast, they trained at Metricon Stadium, weren’t confined to their rooms and had their families there.
“Was that really quarantine? They were still allowed to play golf on tour. Is that an excuse for 4-0? Dunno. It was a pretty good series to be a part of.”
Broad took to Instagram over the weekend to claim that Starc didn’t know what he was talking about.
“How many Test matches did Starcy play away from home during Covid? Trying to do the maths on it. Zero wasn’t it?”
Dizzy warns Poms over pitch ploy
Former Australian fast bowler Jason Gillespie believes England could be helping the old enemy out in the Ashes if they prepare fast, flat pitches.
Home captain Ben Stokes has admitted he wants groundstaff to provide wickets that suit their Bazball style but Gillespie thinks the Aussie bowlers will be licking their lips in anticipation.
“What we’re hearing is that England want grass shaved off pitches to promote aggressive batting, but I just wonder if this particular tactic plays into Australia’s hands a bit more,” Gillespie wrote in a column for the Mail on Sunday.
“Australian bowlers are probably better suited to bowling on those types of surfaces than the English bowlers, whose strength lies in their own conditions, playing with the Dukes ball.”
Gillespie said the tourists have the advantage when it comes to air speed and height with Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Cameron Green while only Stuart Broad and Ollie Robinson fit that bill among the English seamers.
Robinson was well below his best on the last Ashes tour Down Under in 2021-22 but Gillespie, who coached him at Yorkshire, warned the Australians will face a much better operator this time around.
“The one Australia will be most wary of, without a doubt. He’s a real thinking bowler, nibbles it around at a good pace and releases from a massive height.
“He’s a really street-smart operator who researches his opposition a lot and comes up with really clear plans on how he’s going to take wickets.”
Ollie Robinson (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)
Ashes countdown: Days to go …
19
The margin of victory in runs for the home side at The Oval in the 1997 series finale when Australia capitulated to be all out for 104 when confronted with a paltry victory target of 124. Andy Caddick (5-42) and Phil Tufnell (4-27) enjoyed their finest Ashes moments in the dramatic third and final day of the low-scoring contest.
On This Day …
May 28 – former Australia Test captain Herbie Collins died in Sydney in 1959. Born in 1888, he scored 1012 runs, including three tons in 16 Ashes Tests and led Australia on the 1926 tour which ended in a 1-0 series defeat. He was also a first-grade rugby league player with Eastern Suburbs who became a bookmaker after his sporting career was over.
Just Nuisance
Roar Rookie
Nah ! Dale Steyn , Mitch Johnson , Brett Lee , Alan Donald , Michael Holding , Curtly Ambrose ...Those were quicks ..Broad is a lively seamer . .
Just Nuisance
Roar Rookie
When the first ball is bowled the real world begins and the BS ends …I’ve been really looking forward to this series for a long time . But now Ive become desperate for it to start so we don’t have to hear this stuff anymore :angry: I’ll also say this , any team that for any reason needs to doctor the pitch is worried about something . Problem too with altering the pitch is it brings the toss seriously into the equation . Confident teams don’t want that .
Tempo
Roar Rookie
During the Covid era (which I take to be from March 2020 through to the end of the 2021-22 season when Covid bubbles/quarantine had disappeared), Stuart Broad played 6 tests overseas. Mitch Starc played 3 tests (in Pakistan, a country which England had refused to tour earlier in the same season), 6 ODIs and 15 T20Is. Broad went on tours to Sri Lanka, India and Australia. Starc went on tours to England, West Indies, Bangladesh, Pakistan and the UAE. Oh, and the Australian players went through the exact same quarantine, bubbles and restrictions as the English players did during the 2021-22 Ashes - just minus the whingeing.
Pop
Roar Rookie
Including the wine regions of the Barossa.
Nudge
Roar Rookie
Why didn’t someone ask him what his excuse was for the previous ashes trip to Australia in 17/18? Or the one before that. In the previous 3 series in Australia, they have lost 13-0. In both the drawn tests they would have been clean swept but were saved by rain. In 4 of the past 5 series in Australia, England have lost 18-0 which would have been 20-0 of it wasn’t for poor Sydney and Melbourne weather. Don’t think the covid bubbles had too much to do with them
jameswm
Roar Guru
Yeah if England lose this series Broad will need a beach towel to wipe the egg off his face. “Does this series count Broady?”
Jeff
Roar Rookie
The Poms effectively set themselves up with conditions-precedent to ensure they actually toured in a way which involved staying in resorts and at country retreats, with their families accompanying them. As well as opportunities for regular training and practice that aligned with their usual routines. Perhaps the best touring conditions a visiting side has ever been provided in global cricket. And they still got flogged.
Perthstayer
Roar Rookie
Hats off Mr Broad, that is a grade A burn. Starc should ignore him. Broad is a trash talk expert with 100’s of wickets. What hurts is removing his oxygen.
DaveJ
Roar Rookie
From February last year: “It’s a tough life being a professional cricketer. Take the English cricket team, for example. Acting coach Paul Collingwood said last week that the players “deserved medals” for fronting up in Australia for the Ashes. Imagine! Staying in first class hotels, with occasional bio-bubbles, and only allowed out for a few hours every day to practice while in quarantine. Forced to spend two whole months of the balmy English winter in Australia and even having to spend time with their families, once the ECB wangled that concession. And doing it all on salaries in the top one per cent of British income earners!” … Starcy pinched my lines: https://www.theroar.com.au/2022/02/08/bubble-what-bubble-try-the-1878-cricket-tour-to-england/
Pop
Roar Rookie
If I remember correctly , the Poms set a whole range of “ quarantine conditions” to tour and obviously were well catered for. However it didn’t help their performances on the pitch. Maybe too many games of golf!
Simoc
Roar Rookie
Broad is a quick. Quicks are renowned for their lack of intellect. Probably only Cummins, Lawson, Gillespie the exceptions. You gotta be pretty silly to torture your body as they do.
Pop
Roar Rookie
The Australian bowlers need to play Broad some “ chin music”.
Rowdy
Roar Rookie
Broad is talking a big game to cover for his own waning powers. Not even a blue pill will help. ——— I answered on the Voice page but it said closed for comment.
Pop
Roar Rookie
Stuart Broad does more mental gymnastics than the great gymnast Nadia Comaneci.
Arnab Bhattacharya
Roar Guru
Starc had to still travel overseas for series Mr Broad. He played all three formats while living in a bubble. Broad on the other hand only played one format and also did not play every Test with the ECB priorotising players with the rotation policy. See you on June 16