"Peter Moores back at Notts came to me and said 'look at how Shane Warne played, particularly in the 2005 Ashes; quite unorthodox, opening up different parts of the field"
Saturday 25 July 2020 22:16, UK
Stuart Broad says his starring role with the bat, striking 62 from 45 deliveries, on day two of the third #raisethebat Test was down to a change in technique and approach modelled around Australia's Shane Warne.
In his first 73 Tests, Broad averaged 23.95 with the bat, scoring 10 fifties and a century, but since suffering a nasty blow to the head against India in 2014, also at Emirates Old Trafford, he has averaged just 13.59 in his 67 games since.
The last of Broad's three half-centuries in the six years since was scored almost three years ago until he fired England's joint-third-fastest in Tests, off 33 balls, on Saturday morning to help the hosts up to a first-innings score of 369.
Broad then took 2-17 in 10 superb overs as West Indies stumbled to a score of 137-6 by stumps, needing another 33 runs to avoid the follow on.
"It was nice," Broad told Sky Sports. "One of my last Test innings, at The Wanderers, I played in this style and really enjoyed it - with Mark Wood, we put on 100 or just less than that [Wood and Broad put on 82 for the final wicket].
"I tried to think back to how that went because I didn't really have any match practice recently to rely on.
"I've done a couple of tactical and technical things with Peter Moores back at Notts, which has helped me set up a better game plan and I stuck to that today.
"Mooresy came to me at the start of June and said 'look at how Shane Warne played, particularly in the 2005 Ashes [249 runs at an average of 27.66] he scored some really useful runs.
"Quite unorthodox, opening up different parts of the field; I looked at that, did a bit of research as to how he went about it and decided it was a good way for me to go - opening up the off side. It felt pretty comfortable today; having a clear game plan of what to do.
"Batting is such a frustrating, weird thing. If you'd have told me this morning I'd get 10, I'd be pretty happy, and then you end up getting 60 and start kicking the ground that you've not got 70."
"I enjoyed bowling out there today as a unit," added Broad. "We all bring slightly different things but it just proves, in Test cricket, if you apply pressure for long enough, you can get breakthroughs.
"Nasser [Hussain] did a really good piece last week on me going a little bit fuller and I remember Rooty sat me down in 2018 in Hamilton, I think, and said 'we want to try a slightly different style with the new ball - we don't mind going for a few more runs, if we can make a couple more breakthroughs'.
"Jimmy [Anderson] and my style has always been to apply pressure for long periods of time and then maybe go 'bang, bang' so, 15 overs deep, you might get 2-25.
"But, the last couple of years, we've taken a little bit more of a risk. [John] Campbell, in the last game, was the prime example of that; I got driven through the off side and five years ago I'd have kicked the turf, saying 'too full', but actually I was clapping, thinking that's exactly the sort of shot I want to see to a brand new ball. I had another go and fortunately got the nick."
"I think so, absolutely," answered Broad. "Depending on how many overs the seamers have bowled, but we've got a quartet there, with [Dom] Bess as well.
"That's definitely something we'll be hunting for, especially with some bad weather around, potentially on Monday.
"To be honest, the forecast for today was horrible and we've played a whole day, so we don't want to read too much into the forecast.
"But if we got the opportunity to enforce the follow-on, it would be a serious consideration. We're desperate to win this series and if we feel like that gives us the best chance to do that, then the bowlers will be fresh and ready to go."
Watch day three of the crucial third #raisethebat Test between England and West Indies from 10.30am on Sky Sports Cricket.
