Stuart Broad tells England players to revel in rarity of behind-closed-doors Test

SAM DALLING: Despite the restrictions, Broad believes his colleagues should not forget that they are still living their childhood dreams – a point his mum made clear before he departed south to Southampton

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England paceman Stuart Broad has urged his teammates to channel their inner child and draw the positives from the bio-secure Test match environment.

The 30-man Test squad assembled at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton on Tuesday and are slowly but surely acclimatising to their new surrounds.

Among those having checked in last week are eight men uncapped at Test level, alongside several members of the extended coaching staff who are enjoying their first experience with the senior side.

Inevitably, the circumstances are somewhat unusual.

Training in small groups, every man allocated his own dining table and intra-squad socialising limited; it’s a far cry from the usual pre-Test environment.

But despite the restrictions, Broad believes his colleagues should not forget that they are still living their childhood dreams – a point his mum made clear before he departed south.

“She said 'take yourself back to being a 12-year-old kid when all you wanted to do was play cricket any way you could'.

“I have a coffee in the morning overlooking a Test match ground. If you’d have offered me that as a 12-year-old – well probably not the coffee – I’d have been buzzing.

^{England's players assemble for a socially distanced training session}

“Yes, we are playing a Test match for England but when you are a 12-year-old kid you’d have done anything to play cricket.

“Remember opening the curtains and if there was a bit of rain on a Saturday it was heartbreak?

“It’s about trying to have that mindset of “this is exciting just to have the opportunity to play and have some fun”. That gives you a bit of energy.

“Think how many people, even just going down to the next level of county cricket, who would jump at the opportunity to have what us 30-odd players have got - we shouldn’t need anything else.”

Broad is of course an elder statesman of the side and turned 34 this week.

Throughout his 138-Test match career the quick has made a name for himself with his ability to turn games.

Perhaps the most famous occasion came five years ago when he ran through the Australian line up on his way to 8-15 – including the joint fasted five-wicket haul in Test history in a devastating 19-ball spell.

Broad has saved many of his best days in an England jersey for home soil, with partisan crowds playing a big part in geeing him up.

There will be no such atmosphere to draw upon this summer and no one quite knows how the players will react to spectator-less environment.

And the right-armer admits that he has considered how to address the less intense atmosphere and is hoping to channel a little of his father’s spirit.

“It’s a worry for me,” he admitted.

“I know that I thrive off the energy of something happening in the game, or a bit of excitement going on, a big battle going on.

“If you put me in an Ashes game or a pre-season friendly, I know which one I will perform better in.

“I’ve already spoken to our sports psychologist about creating a bit of a mindset around making sure I can get my emotions up to where they need to be for me to perform at my best.

“I know that certain scenarios that bring the worst out of me as a cricketer and that’s when I feel like the game is just floating along, there’s nothing on the game etc.

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“It will be that matchday that will feel the strangest and that’s why it’s great that we’ve got three days warm-up.

“We’ve got to get it out of our system in this warm-up game to make sure that we hit the ground running.

“Maybe I have to pick more of a battle with the opposition and bring my dad into it a bit more.”

Ordinarily by this time in the summer, quick bowlers would be hitting their stride.

But with July fast approaching seamers around the land not yet having bowled a ball in anger.

That means managing workloads will be high on the agenda for backroom staff.

Broad has a proud record of not having missed a home Test match since England’s third Test against West Indies more than eight years ago.

Even then the Nottinghamshire veteran had been pencilled in to play and was only rested by Andy Flower after the first two days were washed out.

However, with three Test matches already scheduled for July, and a further series against Pakistan set to take place in August, rotation is likely to come into play.

Questioned as to whether he would be happy watching on from the stands, unsurprisingly Broad isn’t keen on the idea but understands that the matter may be out of his hands.

^{Stuart Broad speaks to the media via video conferencing on Sunday}

“I don’t like missing cricket,” he said. “My fitness tests have been as strong as they ever have been in this come back to cricket period.

“We all know how hard fast bowling is.

“One of my strengths over the last seven or eight years is that I’ve played consistently so that the body is used to the workload. It’s never had that period of stopping to then get the shock of coming back with the intensity of test cricket.

“That’s the position we are in now and the selection panel have been quite clear; “yes, we want to play our best team as often as possible but we are not going to put bodies at major risk.”

“It’s always going to be hard and frustrating if you are told you are not playing a test, but there is also a bigger picture in them looking after us as fast bowlers.”

At some point in the upcoming series, it’s likely that vice-captain Ben Stokes will have to stand in for captain Joe Root.

The England skipper’s wife is due to have a baby in early July and Root has confirmed his intention to prioritise attending the birth of his second child.

That means that, despite having previously expressed reservations over the role’s impact on his own game, Stokes is set to take the reins on a temporary basis.

And Broad – who has skippered England in the past himself – thinks the Durham man will transition seamlessly into the role, although he’s wary of ensuring that the side’s premier all-rounder is also firing from a playing perspective.

“I think he will find very easy,” he explained.

“Stokesy’s got a really good cricket brain and he’s someone that’s grown and matured incredibly over the last three or four years.

“He’s taking over Rooty’s team to make on field decision so I don’t think he will struggle in any aspects to be honest. It’s not like he’s being judged over a long period of time on decisions that he makes.

“One thing we have to encourage him as other players is to make sure he uses his own ability as a player as well.”

The West Indies series is set to be Chris Silverwood’s first as England head coach in this country.

^{Broad and England take on West Indies from July 8}

But since the 45-year-old was appointed back in October, there has been half an eye on the medium-term goal of regaining the Ashes in Australia at the end of next year.

Indeed, the England Lions squad toured down under last winter with significant emphasis placed on giving the stars of the future experience in Australian conditions.

And while a lot can happen in 18 months, Broad feels that the strength in depth of the current crop of quicks could make for a competitive series.

“One thing’s for sure; there doesn’t seem to be a panic in strength in depth of English fast bowling,” he said.

“We’ve all come here fit and fresh – that’s quite rare for a fast bowling group.

“The dream ticket there is be boarding a flight to Perth for a warm up and having this lot of fast bowlers ready to go - that’s the aim for English cricket.

“Can we go to Brisbane having Olly Stone, Jof (Jofra Archer), Mark Wood – these sort of pace bowlers – (Chris) Woakes, (Sam) Curran, Broad, Anderson – everyone fit, fresh and ready to go?

“If we can do that, we’ve got a chance of winning that [series].”

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