Stuart Broad challenges Australia to play aggressive cricket ahead of Ashes 2023
With the Ashes 2023 series set to begin in June, the veteran English pacer Stuart Broad has challenged Australia to play aggressive cricket. England suffered a 4-0 defeat when these two sides last met in red-ball cricket, but since then, they have changed their approach and started playing an aggressive brand of cricket that didn’t exist in Test cricket previously. Let’s see how Broad plans to counter the Pat Cummins-led side’s gameplay.
Stuart Broad’s strategy
The 36-year-old pacer has issued an open challenge to Australia to counter the ‘Bazball’ revolution. He wants the visitors to try and take on England at their own game, hoping that this will lead them to make mistakes, which could be advantageous for his team.
Broad believes that if England can force the visiting team to score quick runs, then the Pat Cummins-led side may lose a few quick wickets. Moreover, he cited Jack Leach’s bowling as an example of challenging Steve Smith, one of Australia’s mainstays. Leach has scalped more wickets through catching in the mid-off region than via LBW dismissals. Therefore, Broad wants his skipper Ben Stokes to keep the fielders up all the time to increase the temptation to take risks by the Australian batters along with Smith.
According to Broad, if Steve Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, and Usman Khawaja are forced to play in a slightly different style, they could make mistakes, which could be advantageous for England. He wants Smith to dare and come down the track to hit over the mid-off region, and if he can get Smith to dance down the track and sky one to mid-off early doors, that would be classic.
Australia’s plans for the Ashes 2023
The Australian team will reach by the end of May to get accustomed to the English conditions. Meanwhile, players like Steve Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, and Marcus Harris will soon travel to the UK to participate in the County Championship.
England is optimistic about their chances in the upcoming Ashes 2023, and Broad’s open challenge to Australia is proof of that. If England can force Australia to play in a slightly different style, they could make mistakes, which could be advantageous for England. However, Australia is also preparing for the series, and it remains to be seen how they will counter England’s gameplay.
