Stuart Broad admitted to frustration at having to watch England’s capitulation in Barbados from the sidelines, especially since he believed he was bowling at his best.
Broad, despite a hat-trick in the warm-up game and a tweaked action he expected to find success with, was left out of the playing XI as all-rounder Sam Curran took the new ball in the first Test against West Indies. The “bold call” didn’t work, as captain Joe Root agreed, with England missing the control the likes of Broad can provide.
Writing in his column in the Mail on Sunday, Broad said, “Naturally I was very disappointed to be sat on the sidelines this week as you would expect any player to be when not selected for a Test match. From a personal point of view, I would have loved to have a bowl on this Kensington Oval pitch — it looks like it’s suited to the taller, faster bowlers.
"There was a few very soft dismissals in there" – Joe Root laments batsmen's horror show in Barbados.
Full story ⬇️https://t.co/6MKNK7VCfi— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) January 27, 2019
“Another source of frustration is that I’m bowling the best I’ve ever bowled. I believe that 100 per cent. Everyone in this England group knows it too.
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“I have experience to fall back on, the new run-up I disclosed in this column a fortnight ago feels really good and is achieving everything I want it to, there is confidence from taking a hat-trick and four wickets in five balls in the warm-up game and I’m moving this Caribbean Dukes ball more than I can remember,” he added.
Broad, however, insisted he was not “sulking”. Having found out a little before the toss that he won’t play, he said he made an effort to keep his disappointment to himself and “drag nothing away from the group”. It also only motivated him to work with a more long-term view, looking to the Ashes.
“Fail to prepare and you prepare to fail. That has become a cliche in sport but overuse does not erode its essential truth." – Sir Alastair Cook on England's lack of preparation going into the Barbados Test.https://t.co/YKatv3D6Zh
— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) January 27, 2019
“All the work I have done on my bowling since the end of last summer has been implemented with the Ashes in mind. We have talked as a group not to look too far ahead but, in an Ashes year, that series is always hanging over you. Everything I do now is geared towards that,” he said.
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“I have no doubts in my mind that I will be in the XI at Edgbaston on August 1, or at Lord’s for the Test match against Ireland that precedes it. That’s not saying I’m not working towards getting into this team in Antigua next week but if you have longevity in your mind it means you are working really hard.”
