Stuart Broad has described England’s maiden day-night Test match this week as a “step into the unknown” and one that could prove an
Michael Conforto Jersey early leveller against a West Indies side they are otherwise expected to make light work of in preparation for the Ashes. Steel bands and a fake beach are just two of a number of Caribbean add-ons set to be in place at Edgbaston from 2pm on Thursday as, with a pink Dukes ball in hand and under floodlights in the evening session, the two teams get their three-match Investec series under way and Joe Root’s side look to continue their form from the 3-1 win over South Africa. Edgbaston does its homework before England’s first day-night Test Read more Though temperatures are forecast to be in the teens come the evenings and Jason Holder’s ninth-ranked tourists are not the draw card of yesteryear, what is primarily an England tune-up for their day-night Ashes Test in Adelaide this November appears to have caught the imagination in Birmingham, where 70,000 tickets have been sold for the first three days. It will be just the fifth Test of the floodlit era but also a second for West Indies. For all their relative inexperience, with a squad boasting 240 caps to England’s 575, they have at least sampled the format before in a seven-wicket defeat by Pakistan in Dubai last April. Thus Broad, having missed this summer’s floodlit county round through injury, remains wary. “I promise you, we are stepping into the unknown,” said the 31-year-old seamer, who was getting to grips with the fuchsia pink Dukes ball as England practised under the beaming floodlights here on Monday evening between rain showers. “I just don’t know what to expect. This is a big series for us and this is the first Test – it’s quite nerve-racking. You’re playing something that is completely unknown to you but you still have to stamp your authority on the series. It think it really opens up this series to start with.” England’s practice under lights featured Mark Stoneman, the former Durham opener now at Surrey, first in the nets before his Test debut while Hampshire’s similarly uncapped Mason Crane was sending down his leg-breaks to Root in the second lane along with Jack Leach and Dom Bess. These two Somerset spinners are not in the squad but clearly on the selection radar. Chris Woakes was another striving to prove himself after two months out with a side injury and, as the lights fully took over towards the end of the session, the flash of pink against the baize green
http://www.officialmetsproshop.com/Mike_Piazza_Jerseyoutfield of his home ground made the Test seem a mouth-watering prospect. India pair Ravi Ashwin and Cheteshwar Pujara set to play county cricket Read more Broad, who expects the two captains to be tempted by declarations before this anecdotally “tricky” twilight period, had a relatively quiet time against South Africa, claiming 11 wickets at 32 apiece although his final new-ball spell with Jimmy Anderson at Old Trafford was typically high-class fare from a pair that have now shared 720 wickets in 94 Tests playing together. As a seam-bowling duo, only the former West Indies quicks, Curtly Ambrose and Courtney Walsh, have more with 757 from their 95 Tests in tandem. How long the Anderson-Broad axis remains at Root’s disposal will hinge on the former, who at 35 should in theory be slowing down but has 20 victims at 14 already this summer. Certainly Broad sees his close friend ploughing on for some time yet, describing his fitness as “freakish” despite some injury niggles in the past 12 months. There was a concession that rotation may yet become more common, even if their dual resting against West Indies at Edgbaston in 2012 is something he still bristles about. Advertisement “I had some interesting conversations with [the then head coach] Andy Flower. I don’t like missing Test matches,” said Broad, who added that, with two months between the final Test at Lord’s and the first Ashes Test in Brisbane on 23 November, it was unlikely to occur this summer. “Jimmy has a huge hunger for cricket
Luis Sardinas Authentic Jersey and I want him to carry on as long as possible. The Ashes this winter means so much to me personally and I don’t want to look too much further beyond that but, you know, if we start with him at the Gabba, we’ve certainly got a better chance in Australia.” While Australia may be in sight, England appear in no rush to find their replacement for the departing Ottis Gibson, with the bowling coach part of practice and set to remain in place for the series as talks continue over his expected appointment as head coach of South Africa. The Recap: sign up for the best of the Guardian's sport coverage Read more One idea floated, albeit originally in jest when the dressing room learned of Gibson’s mooted departure, is that Anderson could assume the role in a player-coach capacity, perhaps with a view to going full-time when he hangs up his bowling boots. Broad was doubtful if it could work, however, saying: “Jimmy is almost a bit of a bowling coach round the groupanyway. [But] I would prefer him to be taking the new ball at the Gabba fully focused on that. You need someone to bounce ideas off – a coach not playing in the Test when you need to do some technical work.” On Gibson, alongside whom Broad began his career at Leicestershire in 2005, he added: “Ottis has been a huge influence
http://www.officialmarinershop.com/Nelson_Cruz_Jersey on my career, not just as a bowler but as a person. He knows my action better than I do, to be brutally honest. I would be gutted to see him leave
