"It's designed for Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith" - Stuart Broad working on outswinger for Ashes 2023
Senior England speedster Stuart Broad has been working on a special delivery to outsmart the Australian pair of Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne.
Broad is currently playing for Nottinghamshire in the ongoing County Championship Division 1. He has picked up nine wickets in two matches at an average of 22.44 so far.
Stuart Broad registered impressive figures of 4/68 and 3/83 in Nottinghamshire's four-wicket defeat against Middlesex at Lord's in the most recent game. He bowled a splendid outswinger to beat Cameron Bancroft and uproot his off-stump.
GOT 'IM!
Stuart Broad with a beauty to bowl Cameron Bancroft
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Speaking on working with Nottinghamshire bowling coach Kevin Shine to tweak his bowling action and develop the outswinger, Stuart Broad told reporters:
"I’ve been working on this load-up with Kevin Shine, our bowling coach, to create more flow in my bowling action, because sometimes my action can get a little bit jerky. Just lifting my bowling and higher creates a lot more motion and a lot more flow … (Shine’s) quite excited by what it’s doing.
"It was nice to see last week the ball I’ve been working on come to fruition with Bancroft. The ball swinging away from the right-hander is something this flow will create more of."
Broad further mentioned that the addition of the outswinger to his wobble seam delivery is particularly planned for the star Australian batters in the 2023 Ashes in June.
“It’s designed, to be honest, for Marnus and Smith. It’s the reason I wanted to change something, to try and bring their outside edge in more. My stock delivery will always be wobble seam trying to nip back on off stump, because I think that’s the most dangerous ball.
"But to those guys, I think dragging them across with away swing is quite important. So this action tweak is pretty much designed at those two, and it was good to see it really swinging away today."
Stuart Broad to eye for a milestone in Ashes 2023
Stuart Broad has picked up 131 wickets against Australia in 35 Tests at an average of 29.05. He is the fourth-most wicket-taker in the Ashes overall, behind Hugh Trumble (141), Glenn McGrath (157) and Shane Warne (195).
Broad was part of England's previous Ashes squad under Joe Root but was dropped from the team in the first and third Tests in Brisbane and Melbourne respectively.
The 36-year-old is 24 scalps away from becoming only the fifth bowler in the history of Test cricket to account for 600 dismissals. He will join his long-time bowling partner James Anderson in doing so and the Ashes will serve as the perfect opportunity to accomplish the landmark.