Broad appreciates Trent Bridge apology

Cricket365
July 11, 2014

Fast bowler Stuart Broad reiterated England's displeasure with the placid nature of the Trent Bridge pitch, as India climbed to a formidable 457 all out on day two of the first Test on Thursday.

A century from opener Murali Vijay, a half-ton from captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni – and a record 10th wicket stand of 111 between tail-enders Mohammed Shami and Bhuvneshwar Kumar – were at the fore of the impressive tally.

The host attack, meanwhile, struggled in uncharacteristically docile conditions. This venue has has brought just one County Championship draw this season and hasn't seen a Test match stalemate since August 2002.

"It's certainly not what England would have asked for and not what Trent Bridge would have hoped for. I think the best thing that's happened is Trent Bridge have come out and said 'Look, our mistake', and apologised for the pitch," said Broad.

"Trent Bridge is renowned for exciting cricket. You come here to see nicks carry, dropped catches, good runs, exciting shots and quick bowling. We've not really seen a lot of that. I just hope that other grounds don't follow suit."

Resuming on 259 for four, the Indians boasted high hopes of posting a large first-innings score – and perhaps only batting once in this vital series opener. Vijay and Dhoni remained at the fore of the charge, but eventually fell in relatively quick succession for 146 and 82 respectively.

A dramatic collapse later witnessed five wickets for the addition of 42 runs. From the promise of 304 for four, the tourists had slipped to 346 for nine. Shami and Kumar, however, refused to go down without a fight.

Surpassing the 109 gathered by 1952 duo Hemu Adhikari and Ghulam Ahmed against Pakistan in Delhi, but falling short of the 133 amassed by the veteran Sachin Tendulkar and Zaheer Khan versus Bangladesh in Dhaka a decade ago, Shami and Kumar settled for the country's second-highest last-wicket combination in Test match cricket.

"The two batsmen played very well. But once the ball is soft, there's no help for length bowling. We tried everything but they kept the ball out," added Broad. "But in the middle session we claimed four wickets for 90 runs, which was out best session of the day, so it's hard to be too down on ourselves.

"460-odd is a decent score. It's not a 600 which could easily have happened on that wicket. If you can't bowl a bouncer at a lower-order player, it takes out a lot of the threat. Batsmen can get forward and protect their stumps, and then thrive off any width, so we will be hoping to do the same."

The English have since moved to 43 for one, reducing the deficit to 417. Captain Alastair Cook fell late in the day, increasing a torrid stretch of form to 25 Test match innings without a century. Fellow opener Sam Robson and the left-handed Gary Ballance will resume on 20 not out and 15 not out respectively.

"We've got one job, to bat as big as we possibly can. We have to make use of days three and four and try to put the Indians under pressure on the last day. If we can get a good start and build, I'm sure the Indian bowlers won't be looking forward to bowling at Ben Stokes coming in at number eight when they're a bit tired. We can certainly get a big score if we get our heads down," added Broad.