Posted by There is a very easy way in which England could have collapsed even more comprehensively in the first Test. They could have picked their two all time greatest duck-makers, James Anderson and Stuart Broad.
It was a missed opportunity, but it’s not like the two men haven’t been involved in a win-the-toss-and-immediately-collapse Ashes Test before. In 2009, at Headingley, Andrew Strauss called correctly, opted to bat and then saw his side rolled for 102 inside 34 overs.
Strikingly, neither Anderson nor Broad made a duck on that occasion. They both made 3. Four other players failed to trouble the scorers however – Paul Collingwood, Graeme Swann, Steve Harmison and Graham Onions.
Ravi Bopara, batting in what feels like his final Test but which actually wasn’t, made 1.
In the second innings Broad was one half of one of the fastest hundred partnerships in Test history. It was a pretty classic Broad Test really and a great early showing from a man who would grow to become the greatest batsman in the world.
No prizes for guessing what the latest episode of the Ridiculous Ashes is about. (Come on. Even if the previous few paragraphs didn’t tip you off, we’ve been covering the 2009 Ashes and last week was the third Test.)
You can find an embed of the episode below (if you’re reading the website and not the email) and you can find the full series here.
Personally I would send Broad home in disgrace after his moaning comments in the Daily Mail over the weekend. He seems to think he deserves automatic inclusion forever in the team, that is despite him taking only 10 wickets in his last 6 Test matches at an average of 37.40. By way of contrast, Woakes has taken 9 at 23 in his last two. Broad, however, thinks the whole game revolves around him and his revolting ego. He really is an embarrassing cricketer. The England management need to get a grip on his behaviour as it must damage team morale. Selection should be based on performance and not the ability to gripe to the media.
Tell us what you really think.
I thought it was mild by broad standards. By which I mean he is still vaguely self centered