Stuart Broad says England have been right to leave him out of Sri Lanka Tests
Written by News on 19/11/2018
Stuart Broad says he is ready to play in the third Test if called upon but acknowledged England have made the “right decision” in leaving him out of the first two Tests in Sri Lanka given the conditions.
Broad is in the squad but has been in the unfamiliar position of carrying the drinks in Galle and Kandy as England recorded their first away series win since January 2016.
The 32-year-old seamer has 433 Test wickets to his name but is determined to keep on improving and has used his time out of the XI to address some technical issues.
“It’s never easy not playing but it is easier when you can honestly think it’s probably the right decision and if you were at the top of the tree it’s the decision you’d make,” he told Sky Sports.
“We’ve seen in the first two Test matches the amount of output the seamers have had and the amount of spin the spinners have been getting. I don’t think I’d have made a particularly big difference to this England side in these conditions, to be perfectly honest.
“Chris Woakes and I were sat mixing the drinks yesterday and Jimmy was bowling a lovely spell, the bowler who probably moves it most of any bowler in the world and it wasn’t really moving. Woakesy and I just said, ‘well, if he’s not moving it then we’d have been useless on this, wouldn’t we?'”
Despite being omitted from the side, Broad is keen to make the most of his time out in Sri Lanka and says he was desperate to be involved in the tour.
“You’re always desperate to play and it’s always disappointing when you’re not in the side but it’s the right decision,” he added.
“I don’t think that me not playing in Galle or Kandy will affect whether I play against Australia next summer. I don’t think that’s overly relevant really. You’ve got to get ready to play the next Test because you never know what will happen but also, why not try and improve yourself as a cricketer?
“I’ve said whether I play in Sri Lanka or not, I was delighted to be on the tour because it would be easy to say ‘ah, he doesn’t want to come and mix the drinks’ but I do, I want to be part of this England squad and why not leave Sri Lanka in a better place than when you arrived?
“I’ve worked very hard on my fitness, I’m feeling fresh, I’m feeling fit and I’ve found some technical stuff that’s really improving me. So far, so good really.”
Click play on the video at the top of the page to see Broad talk Ian Ward through how he is going about making changes to his bowling action.
(c) Sky News 2018: Stuart Broad says England have been right to leave him out of Sri Lanka Tests
