Cricket World Cup 2011
Broad returns to training
2011-03-01 15:14
Stuart Broad (AFP)
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Bangalore - Stuart Broad could be in contention for England's World Cup group match against Ireland on Wednesday after returning to training after recovering from a stomach upset.
Ajmal Shahzad replaced Broad for England's dramatic tie with India after his teammate was confined to bed and unable to eat, but the pair could now be competing for the same spot after Broad bowled in the nets on Tuesday.
Broad took 2-65 in England's opening win over the Netherlands, while Shahzad has experience of the Bangalore wicket after playing India.
Shahzad failed to take a wicket but hit a crucial six in the last over to help England reach 338-8.
"He's a lot better today," fellow bowler Tim Bresnan said. "Broady just brings us a bit of height advantage. He gets that extra bounce. He's good at the death as well and in the powerplays. He's obviously a lot more experienced than myself and Ajmal, so he brings that to the table as well.
"I'm just glad I'm not picking the side because Ajjy bowled really well."
Broad's reliance on that bounce caused trouble against the Netherlands. Bresnan had opener Alexei Kervezee caught from a short ball in the seventh over, but Broad persisted with it to the point of predictability as the Dutch reached an unexpectedly high 292-6.
"Basically you've just got to work out the conditions, what the pitch is doing, is it slow, quick, can you get away with bowling short?" Bresnan said. "You've got to take all these things into account. Who you're bowling at, what their areas are.
"The powerplay's a lot more difficult than at the death, because you can only have three outside the circle. It's a nightmare but it can be attacking as well. Just depends who you've got batting and what you try to achieve. So, yeah, there's a lot to think about."
Bresnan took career-best one-day figures of 5-48 at Bangalore's Chinnaswamy Stadium, including a late spell of three wickets in four balls.
"The wickets have been very hard to bowl on," England batsman Ian Bell said. "It is difficult to have a go at any bowler who goes the distance on those kinds of wickets. To have a guy who gets five for 48 in 10 overs for me is the outstanding performance, not someone who scores at six an over or more.
"His was the performance of the day on that kind of surface. It was an incredible effort."