Watch: Stuart Broad proved to have a magic touch in the morning session of the fifth Ashes Test match, swapping the bails around on Marnus Labuschagne’s stumps moments before Mark Wood found his outside edge with the very next ball.
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England had gone over an hour and a half without making a breakthrough on day two, with Labuschagne resisting the seamers’ best efforts. He had scored nine runs off 81 balls, when Broad stepped in to shake things up. He came up to the striker’s stumps after the fourth ball of Wood’s over and swapped the bails around on the stumps.
Labuschagne looked slightly bewildered at Broad’s tactics but smiled at Usman Khawaja at the other end as Broad made his way back to his fielding position. The smile was completely wiped from his face with Wood’s next ball, however. He nicked behind off an angled in ball and Joe Root took a spectacular catch at first slip.
When he started to walk back to the dressing room, Labuschagne shook his head at Khawaja in frustration. Broad had run up to Khawaja as soon as Root took the catch, patting him on the shoulder before joining Ben Stokes in celebration.
While Broad’s mind games take some plaudits for Wood’s breakthrough, Jonathan Agnew soothed over some opposition to the tactic from Glenn McGrath on Test Match Special.
“Players shouldn’t come in and be playing with the bails,” said McGrath.
“I mean, would he have edged it if Stuart Broad had not changed the bails?” replied Agnew. “Of course he would have”
Watch: Stuart Broad switches round Marnus Labuschagne’s bails before Mark Wood strikes below
𝗡𝗮𝗺𝗲: Stuart Broad
𝗢𝗰𝗰𝘂𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: Mind Games ExtraordinaireIncredible, Broady 😂👏 #EnglandCricket | #Ashes pic.twitter.com/MdeuNgrN2F
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) July 28, 2023
