England pacer Stuart Broad says Indian batsmen should be prepared for more short-pitched stuff in the ongoing ODI series. He also feels bouncers will continue to be a “legitimate tactic” for the host bowlers despite causing injuries in the visiting camp.
It was Broad’s bouncer which broke Rohit Sharma’s index finger in the rained out ODI opener on Saturday ruling out the Indian batsman from the rest of the series.
Earlier, Yuvraj Singh and Gautam Gambhir were also struck by bouncers in the Test series. But Broad said nothing will hold back the English bowlers from bowling more bouncers in the ongoing five-match ODI series. “You never like to see a professional get injured, but this is a brutal sport and it certainly hit him hard,” Broad was quoted as saying by a newspapers.
“You could obviously hear his screams in the middle, and when the physio got hold of him it looked quite badly dislocated as well,” he said, recollecting Rohit’s trauma.
Broad also promised that “the bouncer will be a legitimate tactic at the Rose Bowl, where the pitches for the Test match and ODIs have been pretty quick.” “We’ve got a full battery of pace bowlers, and although you need to adjust your skills with slower balls and yorkers against a powerful batting line-up like India, I’m a believer in adapting to the conditions. If it’s fast and bouncy that means using the short ball, so hopefully the groundsman will help us out,” he said.
BCCI, ECB to discuss ‘donkey’ row: Taking strong objection to former England captain Nasser Hussain’s comparison of Indian cricketers to ‘donkeys’, the BCCI decided to take up the issue with the ECB.
Hussain had made the comment after Parthiv Patel misjudged Kevin Pietersen’s catch off Munaf Patel’s bowling during the one-off twenty20 match between India and England in Manchester. “The BCCI is taking up with the matter with the English Cricket Board, which engage such commentators. We are trying to take up the matter with them,” BCCI Vice President Rajiv Shukla said.
“Such comments are totally inappropriate and uncalled for. They should be severely condemned. Commentators who make such comments, should abstain from saying such things. We are taking up the matter with the English Cricket Board,” he added.
