Stuart Broad’s half-century on day three in Abu Dhabi swung the match firmly in England’s favour, says AOC editor Phil Walker.
In amongst the match-changing flurry unleashed by Stuart Broad on the morning of day three in Abu Dhabi, one shot shuddered into the fence at extra cover with such uncomplicated brilliance that the mystique of Saeed Ajmal was mocked in a single blow.
That morning session turned the match, and probably the series, and all because of Broad. The best cricketers recognise when the game’s destination lies with them and act on the force of their own charisma, and after four top-order wickets in Pakistan’s inadequate first innings (two clean bowled), Broad was already ticking. There was an edge, a fresh purpose, born of the knife-edge, as soon as he got out there. Ali Cook and Jon Trott had worn Pakistan down the previous day; now Broad was striding out to put the boot in.
And that long stride came in handy. After the crabby, tense shuffles of England’s middle-order both here and at Dubai, Broad’s long front-stride uprooted the spinner’s lengths. Deliveries that would have spat and fizzed yesterday against England’s play-it-late, under-the-nose technicians (poor Eoin Morgan needs counselling before another net) were casually met by Broad and launched, stroked or mullered through first the offside and then, triumphantly, and on one occasion for a maximum, in the parish of cow.
It was as if Broad was suggesting that batting – out there, against Ajmal, against the turning ball on these Arabian dustbowls – was either easy or impossible. The key shot itself, made possible because the spin had been smothered and the close fielders dispersed from under his nose, pierced a packed offside field, hit the gap and ran away for his fifth four. It was classical and smart and superbly executed. A true batsman’s shot. Soon after came the celebratory six, followed by his run-a-ball fifty.
There is something of the fantastical about him. The son of an Ashes hero, a schoolboy opening batsman turned hit-the-pitch tearaway who would ripen into the ideal fast-bowling allrounder. And now, even that image needs an upgrade. He is dangerously close to becoming a genuine allrounder.
Broad propelled England to a lead of 70. Thirty overs in to Pakistan’s reply, the matter seemed settled. The strangulation exerted by Graeme Swann and the quite brilliant Monty Panesar – whose three wickets included the ball of the series to upend Younis Khan’s off stump – constricted the top-order to leave Pakistan four wickets down and still behind. But a stirring counter in the shadows by the kids, Azhar Ali (46*) and Asad Shafiq (35*), has left the game tilted to England but not, by any stretch, in the bag.
Pakistan lead by 55. They have a long tail. But they also have a gifted keeper at No.7 who got runs at Dubai to buttress the burgeoning belief of two young’uns, both of whom found out something about themselves in that final session. And they have Saeed Ajmal. Just as Warne used to nominate a figure that he would need in order to win Australia a Test match, so Ajmal must be thinking of what he can work with. If Pakistan can somehow find a few more than a hundred tomorrow, this already absorbing (and well-supported) Test match will unfold into the classic it already feels close to becoming.
Click here to read David Green’s account of Pakistan’s recent rollercoaster ride
Game Changer: Broad Sword Cuts Down Pakistan
Stuart Broad’s half-century on day three in Abu Dhabi swung the match firmly in England’s favour, says AOC editor Phil Walker.
In amongst the match-changing flurry unleashed by Stuart Broad on the morning of day three in Abu Dhabi, one shot shuddered into the fence at extra cover with such uncomplicated brilliance that the mystique of Saeed Ajmal was mocked in a single blow.
That morning session turned the match, and probably the series, and all because of Broad. The best cricketers recognise when the game’s destination lies with them and act on the force of their own charisma, and after four top-order wickets in Pakistan’s inadequate first innings (two clean bowled), Broad was already ticking. There was an edge, a fresh purpose, born of the knife-edge, as soon as he got out there. Ali Cook and Jon Trott had worn Pakistan down the previous day; now Broad was striding out to put the boot in.
And that long stride came in handy. After the crabby, tense shuffles of England’s middle-order both here and at Dubai, Broad’s long front-stride uprooted the spinner’s lengths. Deliveries that would have spat and fizzed yesterday against England’s play-it-late, under-the-nose technicians (poor Eoin Morgan needs counselling before another net) were casually met by Broad and launched, stroked or mullered through first the offside and then, triumphantly, and on one occasion for a maximum, in the parish of cow.
It was as if Broad was suggesting that batting – out there, against Ajmal, against the turning ball on these Arabian dustbowls – was either easy or impossible. The key shot itself, made possible because the spin had been smothered and the close fielders dispersed from under his nose, pierced a packed offside field, hit the gap and ran away for his fifth four. It was classical and smart and superbly executed. A true batsman’s shot. Soon after came the celebratory six, followed by his run-a-ball fifty.
There is something of the fantastical about him. The son of an Ashes hero, a schoolboy opening batsman turned hit-the-pitch tearaway who would ripen into the ideal fast-bowling allrounder. And now, even that image needs an upgrade. He is dangerously close to becoming a genuine allrounder.
Broad propelled England to a lead of 70. Thirty overs in to Pakistan’s reply, the matter seemed settled. The strangulation exerted by Graeme Swann and the quite brilliant Monty Panesar – whose three wickets included the ball of the series to upend Younis Khan’s off stump – constricted the top-order to leave Pakistan four wickets down and still behind. But a stirring counter in the shadows by the kids, Azhar Ali (46*) and Asad Shafiq (35*), has left the game tilted to England but not, by any stretch, in the bag.
Pakistan lead by 55. They have a long tail. But they also have a gifted keeper at No.7 who got runs at Dubai to buttress the burgeoning belief of two young’uns, both of whom found out something about themselves in that final session. And they have Saeed Ajmal. Just as Warne used to nominate a figure that he would need in order to win Australia a Test match, so Ajmal must be thinking of what he can work with. If Pakistan can somehow find a few more than a hundred tomorrow, this already absorbing (and well-supported) Test match will unfold into the classic it already feels close to becoming.
Click here to read David Green’s account of Pakistan’s recent rollercoaster ride