Broad's pointing tactics need clarity - Smith

[Smith]

He barely got any tailenders.

In the first test he got Gayle, Sarwan, Nash, Ramdin and Edwards. In the second he got Sarwan, Chanderpaul and Edwards.

Take away Edwards and their all batsmen.

Apparently I was under the wrong impression. Apologies.

However an interesting factor is that Broad is not used like a spearhead. He played 4 tests in WI, and yet took only 20 wickets in 6 tests against WI, arguably his best performance. Not a criticism for his bowling, but just that he is not exactly the first choice weapon for England.

 

[King Pietersen]

He's recently been used as a partnership breaker. A perfect example of that is Broad coming on when Sarwan had reached his hundred and bouncing him out. Vaughan didn't seem to have faith in him, whereas Strauss seems to be giving him the belief that he can take wickets at the highest level, and has been using him for that purpose.

 

[Smith]

He's recently been used as a partnership breaker. A perfect example of that is Broad coming on when Sarwan had reached his hundred and bouncing him out. Vaughan didn't seem to have faith in him, whereas Strauss seems to be giving him the belief that he can take wickets at the highest level, and has been using him for that purpose.

How are then people talking so highly about him when he is used just as a partnership breaker? What is his utility as a 90 kmph + (allegedly) fast bowler?

 

[King Pietersen]

He opens the bowling for us as well, so he's probably considered our main strike bowler as well when it's not swinging and when Fred's not playing. He is a 90mph+ bowler as well, there's no allegedly about it. The only Test where the speed guns were clearly inaccurate were at Lords where even Tim Bresnan was timed at 90mph, the rest of the bowlers speeds have come down since then, Broad's haven't. He's been consistently quick all summer, and in fact been more consistently quick than Fidel Edwards. He's turned into Strauss's go to man, whenever he needed a wicket against the Windies he chucked the ball to Broad, and he delivered very often.

 

[Smith]

He opens the bowling for us as well, so he's probably considered our main strike bowler as well when it's not swinging and when Fred's not playing. He is a 90mph+ bowler as well, there's no allegedly about it. The only Test where the speed guns were clearly inaccurate were at Lords where even Tim Bresnan was timed at 90mph, the rest of the bowlers speeds have come down since then, Broad's haven't. He's been consistently quick all summer, and in fact been more consistently quick than Fidel Edwards. He's turned into Strauss's go to man, whenever he needed a wicket against the Windies he chucked the ball to Broad, and he delivered very often.

If he's England's strike weapon, why his per match average is less than 4 wickets in the WI combined series? That denotes surprisingly underutilisation.

 

[GIMH]

He's part of a good attack. Anderson is in the best form of his life, Swann has a bit of a golden arm, Onions bowled well. Wickets per game doesn't mean too much when talking about any of these guys IMO

 

[wpdavid]

If he's England's strike weapon, why his per match average is less than 4 wickets in the WI combined series? That denotes surprisingly underutilisation.

On occasions he was under-used, notably the last day in Antigua. Beyond that, someone will have to look up how many overs he bowled compared to the others. Plus he is still a work-in-progress. He's better than he was, but you're not wrong that he didn't always bowl as well in the tests over here as he had done in the WI.

fwiw I'm fine with the fact that his average has dropped from 45 to a smidge under 40 in the last few months given that the WI tests were played on absolute roads and he has tended to get rid of their top batters from time to time. Hopefully that will continue, although it's going to be tough in his next two series. But it's not as if his average has stayed at 40 despite playing WI home & away.

 

[King Pietersen]

Given the flatness of those decks in the West Indies, it's incredible that he managed to end the series with figures as good as they were. 12 wickets at 30 is very impressive in comparison with the other quicks on show. His average has dropped from 45.23 in India in December 08 to 37.95 after the home Windies series, that's a very good turn in the right direction. His figures really weren't helped by his debut being made in Sri Lanka 3 years ago on a deck which saw alot of runs scored where he took 1-95. If you take that 1 Test match out his average drops to 36.6. Which really isn't as disastrous as many like to make out.

He's only played 17 Tests as well, so his average will start to drop rapidly if he continues to show the rapid development that he has shown in the past few months. Great bowlers have struggled early in their career's as well. Glenn McGrath's average after 8 Tests was 43.68, Shane Warne averaged 49.92 after 8 Tests, Andrew Flintoff averaged 66.42 after 10 Tests, Malcolm Marshall averaged 39.00 after 8 Tests, Michael Holding averaged 45.50 after 7 Tests, Richard Hadlee averaged 41.61 after 8 Tests and still averaged over 35 after the same amount of Tests as Broad. Just proves that you don't have to have a lightening start to have a long and successful Test career. Not saying he'll definitely have a career as good as the names above, but it's far too early to write him off.

 

[World Cricket]

Given the flatness of those decks in the West Indies, it's incredible that he managed to end the series with figures as good as they were. 12 wickets at 30 is very impressive in comparison with the other quicks on show. His average has dropped from 45.23 in India in December 08 to 37.95 after the home Windies series, that's a very good turn in the right direction. His figures really weren't helped by his debut being made in Sri Lanka 3 years ago on a deck which saw alot of runs scored where he took 1-95. If you take that 1 Test match out his average drops to 36.6. Which really isn't as disastrous as many like to make out.

He's only played 17 Tests as well, so his average will start to drop rapidly if he continues to show the rapid development that he has shown in the past few months. Great bowlers have struggled early in their career's as well. Glenn McGrath's average after 8 Tests was 43.68, Shane Warne averaged 49.92 after 8 Tests, Andrew Flintoff averaged 66.42 after 10 Tests, Malcolm Marshall averaged 39.00 after 8 Tests, Michael Holding averaged 45.50 after 7 Tests, Richard Hadlee averaged 41.61 after 8 Tests and still averaged over 35 after the same amount of Tests as Broad. Just proves that you don't have to have a lightening start to have a long and successful Test career. Not saying he'll definitely have a career as good as the names above, but it's far too early to write him off.

QED Smith give up on your broad bashing, you don't have your facts straight whatsoever and keep coming up with a fresh line of reasoning once you've just been proven wrong. Not only is his bowling improving rapidly, to average over 30 in test cricket with the bat when you are not even considered an all-rounder is testament to the talent and potential he possesses. Hungry cricketers that won't tolerate losing are what england has been longing for.