Broad issues a rally cry to England flops
FAST bowler Stuart Broad has called on England’s one-day flops to learn from their previous mistakes as they look to avoid a humiliating series whitewash to Australia.
A string of poor batting performances have seen Andrew Strauss’s men crash to four straight defeats in the 50-over format.
The fifth game of the seven-match series takes places at Trent Bridge this afternoon and Broad has called on his ailing troops to let their actions do the talking in a bid to regain lost confidence.
“There have been a few team meetings, Broad explained. “We’ve done a lot talking during the first four games but it’s all about actions now.
“There’s only so much Andy Flower, England coach can say for it to sink in and for us to learn from our mistakes. We’ve been told our roles and we know our game plans, we’re just not executing them. It’s up to the players to take responsibility and perform.
“We’ve obviously been making the same mistakes which isn’t acceptable. The only place we can change that is out on the pitch and we need to do that at Trent Bridge.”
The bad news for England is that all-rounder Luke Wright is a doubt after suffering a freak training ground injury. The Sussex man was struck on the toe while batting against a bowling machine at Loughborough. Hampshire’s Dimitri Mascarenhas has been brought in as cover.
With the series already over, both sides may now rest some men ahead of next week’s ICC Champions Trophy in South Africa and Strauss is looking for his players to stand up and be counted.
“Other people have to stand up. In a good, functioning one-day team you have got match-winners everywhere,” he added.
“The top six all have to be capable of getting one-day international hundreds – and hundreds generally win you games.”