I wish now I had blogged some weeks ago when it was fashionable to say maybe Stuart Broad should be dropped from the England cricket team. I have been a long term fan. I was telling my cricket friends I would keep him. He is a good batsman, often called on to rescue an innings when the specialist batsman have scored too little. As we saw yesterday, on his day he can also be a devastating bowler. For me he is the new Flintoff.
I was busy yesterday. I heard the lunchtime score and felt our chances of the Ashes were slipping away fast. When I turned the radio on again at 5.30 pm I couldn’t believe the transformation.Watching the highlights last evening, it was the most sustained spell of accurate and testing fast bowling England has produced for a long time. He has given our team a real chance of winning the Ashes. Let’s hope they take it.
Whatever the final outcome this has been a great Ashes series. Two games have seen a dominant and talented Australian side in full flight, and two have seen England on song. The tie breaker is proving compulsive.
August 22, 2009
OK, I’m off to find a Conservative MP who thought Broad should have been dropped, then I’m going to write a lazy column about splits in Tory Ranks Over Broad, then I’m off to the pub.
August 22, 2009
Line, length, and hostile come to mind.
In short it is about sensible control.
I was going to say bowling a good regulation length, but I fear we have too much regulation.
Lets hope for the right result, but for that our batsmen need to show a similar amount of sensible control, and to get enough runs for us to be in credit.
August 22, 2009
Stuart Broad was sensational yesterday, however the second innings didn’t get off to the best start.
August 22, 2009
Well, they started the new innings badly but are now clawing back!
Let’s hope they do it!
August 22, 2009
I am really looking forward to gloating over my Australian friends…..
August 23, 2009
Wonderful final match – Australia finishing the day on 80 for nought with an England lead of 500+so a mountain to climb but grit and determination in abundance. Sunday should be yet another great day of Test Cricket. Go England!
August 23, 2009
Broad and Swann have both demonstrated that they can bowl at test level and make runs down the order, I expect both are capable of the odd test century too.
One thing neither of them can replace however is Flintoff’s role as fast bowler. Although Fred liked to be thought of as a Batsman who bowls, it was his relentlessly accurate and aggressive fast bowling that made him a world class test cricketer.
Broad is a bowler in the mould of Anderson, not Flintoff, who extracted dangerous bounce and never lost his rhythym when the going got tough. We have no like-for-like replacement for Flintoff as a bowler. In terms of pace and bounce the closest thing we have is Harmison.
But Harminson doesn’t travel well and is a confidence bowler, he can’t replace Freddie either. I can’t think of any England qualifying player who can fill Flintoff’s boots in this respect.
Reply: I suspect Stuart Broad will end his career in due course with better bowling figures than Flintoff. He is trying, I read, to bowl more like McGrath, who was so successful for Australia by bowling line and length in the low 80s. Stuart Broad can also bowl around 90mph when he needs to.
August 24, 2009
It’s not just about the speed gun. Last time I was at a tes match where Flintoff and Harmison were bowling, the wicketkeeper went back another 10 paces for Harmy. You could see the ball when Flintoff bowled, but when Harmy bowled all you saw was a little puff of dust when it pitched. According to the speed gun they both bowled the same pace.