Keeping Clarke quiet has been key so far: Broad

Published August 5, 2015
NOTTINGHAM: Australian captain Michael Clarke bats at a nets session on Tuesday.—Reuters
NOTTINGHAM: Australian captain Michael Clarke bats at a nets session on Tuesday.—Reuters

LONDON: England will continue targetting Australia’s under-pressure skipper Michael Clarke as they try to secure an Ashes series victory at Trent Bridge this week, according to fast bowler Stuart Broad.

Clarke, like most of the visiting batsmen, has struggled in the English conditions and is averaging 18 compared to his Test career average of almost 50.

He managed only 13 runs in two innings at Edgbaston last week as England won by eight wickets to move 2-1 ahead.

“We obviously do a lot of research on him because he averages something like 52 in over 110 Tests which is remarkable, the career he’s had,” Broad, England’s leading wicket-taker in the series with 12, told a news conference.

“We talk a lot about him and we’re proud of the way we’ve bowled at him so far. We’ve made it

hard for Michael. We know how dangerous he is. He is such a key player for them and it’s been going well so far.”

Momentum is with England but this unpredictable series could easily take another swing on Thursday at Trent Bridge where Broad says England will have to be ‘right on the money’ against a wounded Australia team.

“It’s about making sure our game plan is dead right and not to worry too much about what the Aussies are doing,” he said. “We know they are a dangerous team. None of the Tests have been very close have been they? Not like 2005 where each game went to the wire. It’s been a fascinating series.”

Australia’s pace bowler Mitchell Johnson describes the fourth Test as a ‘grand final’.

“There is no avoiding it — we were very disappointed with our performance in Edgbaston. We just didn’t bat well and we didn’t start very well with the ball either,” Johnson, who reached the 300 Test wickets landmark at Edgbaston, told Sky Sports.

“What’s going on out on the field has a very immediate effect on how everyone else is feeling back in the dressing room. The mood can change a lot during the course of an innings.

“We’ve just got to focus on what we’ve been doing when we’ve been playing well. We have to take it one day at a time, one innings at a time and try and build those partnerships like we did at Lords.”

Published in Dawn, August 5th, 2015

On a mobile phone? Get the Dawn Mobile App: Apple Store | Google Play

Opinion

Editorial

Judiciary’s SOS
Updated 28 Mar, 2024

Judiciary’s SOS

The ball is now in CJP Isa’s court, and he will feel pressure to take action.
Data protection
28 Mar, 2024

Data protection

WHAT do we want? Data protection laws. When do we want them? Immediately. Without delay, if we are to prevent ...
Selling humans
28 Mar, 2024

Selling humans

HUMAN traders feed off economic distress; they peddle promises of a better life to the impoverished who, mired in...
New terror wave
Updated 27 Mar, 2024

New terror wave

The time has come for decisive government action against militancy.
Development costs
27 Mar, 2024

Development costs

A HEFTY escalation of 30pc in the cost of ongoing federal development schemes is one of the many decisions where the...
Aitchison controversy
Updated 27 Mar, 2024

Aitchison controversy

It is hoped that higher authorities realise that politics and nepotism have no place in schools.