Stuart Broad takes help of psychologist to prepare for upcoming Test series
With international cricket set to resume in little over a week, England speedster Stuart Broad has taken the help of a sports psychologist to prepare him for the return. The first Test match between England and West Indies will be played at Hampshire Ageas Bowl behind closed doors in a bio-secure venue on July 8.
The circumstances are unusual given the COVID-19 pandemic has infected over 10 million people worldwide.
With no crowds allowed in Southampton and players playing in a bio-secure bubble, Broad wanted to make sure that he was in the right frame of mind to take on the a Windies side which has been in the British country since June 9.
"International cricket certainly will be more of a mental test to make sure each player is right up for the battle. I've already spoken to our sports psychologist about creating a mindset around making sure I can get my emotions up to where they need to be for me to perform at my best," said Stuart Broad.
Stuart Broad mentioned that playing in such conditions would be challenging for everybody and therefore each team member had to be strong.
"It is going to be a different challenge for everybody, there will be times when the mind might drift further than it would in a normal Test match but that is where we have got to be so strong as individuals to not let that happen" added Stuart Broad.
Stuart Broad is ready for the challenge
Stuart Broad, who thrives in the presence of a raucous home support, said the game will feel different with no crowds but also remarked that he was prepared for the challenge and are not relying on crowd support to drive them forward.
"The games will feel a bit different with no crowds, our domestic game in red ball cricket, a lot of the time we play in front of smaller crowds, so we are not relying on the atmosphere or the crowds to drive us forward," said the lanky pace bowler.
Stuart Broad is especially wary because the last time these two teams met in a Test series in 2019, the Windies team had the last laugh. Broad could only claim three wickets in the series which West Indies won 2-1.
Stuart Broad has played 138 Test matches and taken 485 wickets. Together with James Anderson, Broad has been carrying England's pace bowling attack for the major part of the last one decade.