‘I had to completely study him’: Stuart Broad’s simple plan for ‘fiery’ David Warner in 2023 Ashes

Sixteen months on, their famous, long-running rivalry is increasingly becoming a topic of conversation once more. The prospect of doing battle with the Australia opener has got Broad’s juices flowing, particularly because the seamer had Warner, his fellow 36-year-old, on toast during their most recent Ashes series on English soil, dismissing him seven times in 2019.

“I’m really looking forward to stepping on the field against him,” Broad said. “I must admit, at the end of Hobart last time, we shared a glass of red and didn’t know if we would play against each other again.

“We’ve had incredible battles. I’m trying to think of when I’d have first bowled to him – 2013, I think. He had the better of me for quite a long period, he got a hundred at Brisbane and the WACA. Ultimately, the biggest praise I can give Davey is the fact I had to completely study him and change my style of bowling because of the success he had against me.

“He’s been a great competitor, someone I’ve really enjoyed playing against. He’s fiery, he’s pretty ferociously competitive, and those sorts of characters bring out the best in me as well.

“I bowled particularly well against him [in 2019 when Warner averaged 9.50] in conditions that suited me but that will be very different this year. The 2019 wickets were tired from the World Cup. They were dry, so the new ball seamed off the dryness. It was not so much swing, but wobble-seam.

“Now we’re playing in June and July, you expect the pitches not to have that tiredness. It may be a slightly different style of bowling on them. I’ve got to adjust my length and change. The fact is you can’t bowl width to David Warner, so my line won’t be changing.”

With the first ball of the Ashes only 24 days away, Broad said he could not remember more hype around a series since 2005. England’s “Bazball” revolution has upped the stakes and given fans a renewed hope of reclaiming the urn – and doing it in style.

“When we lost [to New Zealand in February] in Wellington by one run, the supporters who had travelled across the world to see us could not have been happier, even though we had lost the game,” he said. “Everyone was saying, ‘This is such an amazing thing, you have really entertained us, we have loved coming every day.’

“If we stick to the style we have played, which we will, we have 29 days of Test cricket [five Ashes games and a four-day match against Ireland beforehand] for people to catch a glimpse of, to see an innings or spell.

“No doubt we have beaten teams in the last year who must have sat in their changing rooms and said, ‘Why don’t we do that? Why don’t we play like that?’ When I watched the Pakistan series from home, I thought, ‘Why don’t Pakistan free up and play like England?’ They have some seriously talented players. Look at South Africa. Maybe they will look at it and say, ‘We are a decent 50-over team. Why don’t we play 50 overs for five days?’ If that starts happening, then you can see Test cricket going from strength to strength.”

However, Broad doesn’t think Australia will be sucked into copying England’s new style. “Why would they do it with the success they have had over the last few years?” he said. “They have a team that has played a lot and is very embedded in their individuals.”

Broad has played in every Ashes series since 2009 and it is likely this will be his last. He is, as he put it, at “the arse-end” of his career, but retirement is not on his mind. “What do they call it, the twilight of the career?” he said. “It’s sort of the arse-end of your career, but I’ve still got a great hunger. I love that competitive drive that bowling at a batter gives you. You beat the outside edge and there’s no win in that, but you nip one back and it goes through the gate. Those sorts of feelings are so addictive.”

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Broad is hungry to play in the Test match against Ireland at Lord’s, starting on June 1, despite recent injuries to some seam bowlers making him an even more precious asset.

“I want to play, to keep bowling,” he said. “I’d rather be involved in the game than be in the nets. I won’t get given a choice, I wouldn’t have thought, but if I am I’d want to play at Lord’s next week.”

“It’s quite unrealistic to think any seamer is going to play all six Tests in seven weeks. We’ve got a heavy workload for this period and you’ve got to manage your workload. But any time you get a chance to play at Lord’s, I’d love to have a crack.”

Originally published as ‘I had to completely study him’: Stuart Broad’s simple plan for ‘fiery’ David Warner in 2023 Ashes