Sunday 24 / November / 2024
Birmingham [UK]: After setting up a thrilling final day of the first Ashes Test at Edgbaston on Tuesday, England veteran pacer Stuart Broad insists there are still a lot of dangerous Australia batters for hosts to face on the nail-biting fifth day.
The opening Test of the Ashes hangs in the balance as Australia closed on 107/3, still 174 behind with one day's play remaining. Australia needs 174 runs more to win the first Ashes Test at Edgbaston, and England needs seven wickets, so Broad is aware that visitors will be dangerous on day five.
Broad first dismissed Marnus Labuschagne (13) and then he struck again to dismiss Steve Smith for 6.
"It's all set up to be a fantastic day. We're obviously delighted to have Warner, Marnus and Smith back in the pavilion because they're world-class players. But we know the Aussies have got a lot of danger to come so we've got to be right on the money," Sky Sports quoted Broad as saying.
"I don't think any batter is going to come in and say it's a fantastic pitch to bat on. It's turgid and hard to time the ball on. And no bowler's going to say it's not carrying or moving particularly. It's a hard working pitch, you've got to create pressure and hit the pitch as hard as you can," he added.
But outstanding four-wicket hauls for Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon saw England bowled out for 273, leaving a target of 281 for the visitors to win the Edgbaston Test.
In addition, Broad is hoping for some bad weather on day five to increase England's prospects after Australia's victory on day three while playing in cloud cover.
Just before play was halted by rain, Scott Boland and Australia's skipper Pat Cummins were able to get rid of England's openers Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett, and Broad acknowledged that England might benefit from a similar spell on the final day.
"There is still two results on the table I think. The intent from ball one was pretty clear. We are not a results driven team in any way, shape, or form and you almost add pressure on yourself when you set targets of what you want to achieve," said Broad.
"This could have been a draw on this type of pitch so us forcing the game forward makes a result possible tomorrow.
"I think there is supposed to be a bit of cloud around tomorrow. We saw how much it zipped around when there was the cloud the other day. If you can get lucky as a bowling group and get an hour of that you can bring the game home pretty quickly. We feel pretty confident we can go and get 7 wickets and if we turn up tomorrow and there is a bit of cloud, I will have a smile on my face," he added.
