Stuart Broad tells Ben Stokes EXACTLY how to stop Travis Head in the Ashes
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England's former pacer Stuart Broad, the fifth-highest wicket taker in the history of Test cricket, has come forward to hand over a secret mantra to stop Travis Head after the Australian batter single-handedly crushed the hopes for England's early lead in the Ashes series.
Travis Head proved the difference between the two teams during the First Test between Australia and England at the Optus Stadium in Perth. Australia has so far maintained a 100% winning streak in this WTC with 4 wins in 4 games.
Under tough batting conditions, Travis Head was sent in as opener by skipper Steve Smith as Australia needed to chase 205 runs to win the first Test. Head played a phenomenal innings that knocked the wind out of the England bowlers with his superb 123.
Travis Head gets bored of getting a single and tries something outrageous and might get out - Stuart Broad
Stuart Broad, the second-highest wicket-taker in the history of red-ball cricket for England, has suggested that England's pacers should aim to frustrate Travis Head and dismiss him by getting him to do something different from what he is accustomed to.
“What they could have done when Travis Head was really going, then you have to use your awareness to say, ‘Let’s get him off strike, let’s let him to face one ball an over and it’s a clip off his hip and he gets one and you don’t let him face four, five balls an over and he hits a boundary in those’”, Broad told Australian radio station SEN.
“And crucially, when you get him off strike, Marnus Labuschagne comes down to the facing end, you bowl dots at him and create pressure on him.
“Suddenly, you do that for forty minutes, and Travis Head gets bored of getting a single and tries something outrageous and might get out. That’s what England could have done a bit better. Yes, we like to see this aggressive play, and it’s always looking at the positive option.
“But sometimes, the positive option is to take the bite out of what’s going on just to try and make Travis Head do something different. You can’t just let him keep flaying it for hours on end and ends up with 120-odd off 80-odd balls. I think England could have done that a bit differently.”
It’s the first time that I’ve seen Ben Stokes not have a tactical answer on the pitch - Stuart Broad
Stuart Broad mentioned that this was the first time he had noticed the England skipper under such pressure and without any proper tactical plan. He has further opined that with the gap until the second Test in Brisbane, captain Ben Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum will have to come up with new strategies.
“It’s the first time that I’ve seen Ben Stokes not have a tactical answer on the pitch,” Stuart Broad said of Head's impressive innings in Perth. “And that means full credit to what he (Travis Head) was able to do. When I reflect on what England could have done, it came as a shock.
“They’ve designed their mindset to Travis Head coming in at No.5. He opens the batting because Usman Khawaja has a back spasm. So, the plan is already gone. You’ve now got a new ball. ‘Okay, what’s the plan to Travis Head with a brand new ball? We’ve not even discussed this leading into this series’, so you’re a little bit scrambled," Stuart Broad added.
England have released three players from their Ashes squad
After the first match was finished within just 2 days, the England team released some of their players from the squad to participate in the upcoming two-day event against the Prime Minister's XI.
England have released all-rounder batter Jacob Bethell and pacers Matthew Potts and Josh Tongue ahead of their second Test at the Gabba in Brisbane.
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England National Cricket Team Australia National Cricket Team Australia vs England Stuart Broad Travis Head The Ashes Ben Stokes
