I got lucky: Broad on dismissing Warner 7 times in 2019 Ashes
Oct 30, 2020
London [UK], October 30 : England pacer Stuart Broad has said he 'got lucky' against David Warner last year in the Ashes when the right-handed bowler had dismissed the Australian batsman seven times in the span of 104 balls.
Speaking to The Analyst's Virtual Cricket Club - an initiative set-up by Simon Hughes to support the Professional Cricketers' Trust, the 34-year cricketer said the timing of the series and condition created a perfect platform to succeed.
"I got lucky, in the sense that it was a really good summer to bowl with a brand-new ball in England. It had that dryness of pitches - probably due to the World Cup - that just nipped off the seam," ESPNcricinfo quoted Broad as saying.
"I was fresh, I was buzzing, I was excited because it was my first international cricket of the summer - for guys who had played in the World Cup, it was maybe a different story," he added.
Warner had been through a lean patch during the Ashes 2019. The left-handed batsman scored just 95 runs in 10 Test innings and Broad dismissed Warner seven out of 10 times in the Ashes 2019 resonating his struggle with the bat.
"I had a lot of time to do research while the World Cup was going on. I have always found [Warner] a very difficult batsman to bowl at, particularly in the third innings when you are tired: he is very good at punishing shorter bowling and width," said Broad.
"I had all my energy focused on hitting the stumps, and by the time I got him twice, he was then unsure whether to play me or leave me, because balls were nipping back at the stumps," the pacer added.
The fifth match of the 2019 Ashes was won by England by 135 runs to level the series 2-2. However, Australia retained the urn as they had previously won the Ashes in the 2017/18 season.
This is the first time in 47 years that the Ashes ended as a draw. The last series which ended as a draw between England and Australia was in 1972.
