Ashes: Stuart Broad lashes out at ‘characterless’ and ‘soulless’ Edgbaston pitch on Day 2

By India Today Sports Desk: England quick bowler Stuart Broad expressed his satisfaction with England’s place on the finish of the second day of the primary Ashes Test match towards Australia at Edgbaston.

However, Broad additionally criticised the pitch, describing it as one of many slowest he has encountered in his 94 Test matches on residence soil.

Broad acknowledged that the Edgbaston pitch has been a “nightmare” for quick bowlers. He additionally talked about that it was a “characterless” and “soulless” floor that sapped the power out of the ball. Broad expressed his hope that the gradual pitch at Edgbaston wouldn’t set a pattern for your complete sequence.

The Englishman identified that the gradual pitch made it tough for the seamers to get plays-and-misses and edges to slide, particularly when dealing with Steve Smith.

“How can I be polite? It’s a very slow, low surface that saps the energy out of the ball, would be the nice way to put it,” Broad advised the broadcasters. “It’s been pretty characterless so far – a bit soulless. But ultimately you can only judge it towards the end of a Test match and see how it develops.

“It’s definitely one of many slowest pitches I can keep in mind bowling on in England. I feel there was a stat that, for the Aussies within the first 10 overs, it moved the least-ever recorded. It has definitely been exhausting work for the seamers.

“Ultimately, we’re looking to entertain and have fun and get the crowd jumping, and it’s quite a difficult pitch to get plays-and-misses on and nicks to slip and stuffâ€æ these sorts of pitches are your worst nightmare when Steve Smith walks to the crease, to be honest.”

Despite the difficult pitch, Australia ended the day trailing by 82 runs with 5 wickets remaining of their first innings. Usman Khawaja performed an important function by scoring an unbeaten hundred to anchor Australia’s innings all through the day.