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?”
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)
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.
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