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Friday 13 March 2020 10:29, UK
Seamer Stuart Broad says experimentation and variation will be key if England's attack is to replicate the team's dominant performance in Sri Lanka in 2018.
Broad, 33, was part of the touring party that earned a 3-0 whitewash in a series dominated by spin with Jack Leach (18 wickets), Moeen Ali (18) and Adil Rashid (12) to the fore.
While Broad went wicketless in the only Test he played - and has just three scalps in three tours of Sri Lanka - he says that Sri Lanka is a pivotal place in the development of any cricketer.
Since learning how to bowl his leg-cutter under then-coach Peter Moores on England's 2007 tour, Broad has continued to try out new bowling methods on the subcontinent.
During the current tour match against a Sri Lanka Cricket Board President's XI, Broad gave Sky Sports Cricket's Ian Ward and insight into his training - including his different wrist positions, how he varies the placement of the ball in his fingers and his methods of finding that often-all-too- elusive swing.
"These sorts of conditions can lead you into not just trying to hit the top of off for six balls an over," said Broad.
"Whereas in other countries like England and South Africa there is great value in that and it is a huge strength to have, in this session I wanted to try a different slower ball and different ways with a newer ball to see what variant of swing I can get with different grips.
"Paul Collingwood was someone who bowled a slower ball without flicking his wrist and Chris Woakes has taken that on; I watch Woakesy bowl it last week in a three-day game and thought 'that can be really effective in these conditions'. So I just wanted to try it and it was quite fun, actually.
"I'm not a perfectionist in nets so if I hit the side-netting or the top of the net, I don't care; I think you've got to try things and get things wrong to know how you can get it right."
While Broad was left out of England's second warm-up match of the tour, the veteran is fully expected to lead the attack in next week's first Test in Galle - a match you can watch on Sky Sports Cricket from 4am on Thursday.
Skipper Joe Root has spelt out how much he values Broad's experience of Sri Lankan conditions, saying: "He knows how the surfaces play and how to get the best out of them with his style of bowling."
For his part, Broad is determined to grab wickets however they come.
"Any wicket is valuable - caught mid-off, you do someone with a slower ball or your bouncer gets slapped to midwicket. These are genuine dismissals in this part of the world. You don't have to nick everyone off to first slip. You find ways to scramble 20 wickets to win a Test match.
"We saw the last time we came here that the spinners did a huge amount of damage and Stokesy did a bit with bouncers, so being able to have a varied attack is quite important.
"The new ball in Sri Lanka can nip around - it can be a useful time to bowl. I'm not somebody who looks to try and swing the ball too much because I think it leaks into weaknesses of mine; it makes me bowl too full and look to plonk it up there."
So is Sri Lanka the toughest place to bowl seam?
"Yes," said Broad. "Conditions-wise I think so; it's brutally hot and sweaty, particularly this time of year. Keeping the ball in good condition is tough; reverse swing is important but you've got to keep the ball dry somehow. You've got 11 players out there who are pouring with sweat - you can't not sweat.
"Hydration is incredibly important and not just in the evenings. We're weighing ourselves in the morning and then how many kilograms you drop in the day you have to drink a bottle of water for each.
"I don't know if bowling is the worst thing; it's the guys who bat for six hours who are constantly pouring with sweat. When 12 o'clock strikes it's like being in a sauna or an oven. It's a really interesting experience and something every cricketer should go through."
Watch England's two-Test series in Sri Lanka live on Sky Sports Cricket from 4am on Thursday, March 19.
