"The period from 50-80 overs is going to be a real holding role, which highlights how wisely we'll have to use the first and second new balls," said Broad. "The bowling unit was aware of how difficult it might be to take wickets out here and that has been highlighted for us."
Callow shots certainly played a part in that lunch scoreline, but Broad, surely as zealous a convert to the value of pitching the ball up as there can ever have been among the fast and nasty fraternity, drew the batsmen into their misadventures. William Porterfield edged to Steven Davies in the bowler’s opening over - Davies deputising for Matt Prior as a precaution after the latter had bruised his ring finger in practice the previous day.
A left-hander, Porterfield had shaped to hit Broad through square leg, an ambitious shot given the line, length and newness of the ball.
Equally optimistic was Paul Stirling’s pull shot against Broad, which cannoned into the stumps off the bottom-edge. A chunky batsman with a low centre of gravity, Stirling had just stood on his tip toes and driven Broad for four on the up through mid-off, a show-stopping shot few can play. The old Broad would have retorted by letting fly with a bouncer, something Stirling obviously expected, but the ball was only just short of a length and far too full for the shot he attempted.
Broad, who finished with 4-46 and showed no ill-effects from the shoulder injury he picked up at Lord’s in September, continued his golden start when he had Scotland’s Kyle Coetzer caught by Davis driving at another ball of full length.
It is a long time ago, but I recall Peter May handing out advice to new Test bowlers when he was chairman of selectors. You need to bring good batsmen forward to get them out was the gist of it and it applies just as well to journeymen like Coetzer.
Broad’s extra height probably helped to make the batsmen more hesitant in their footwork, as James Anderson kept the ball full and didn’t have any success until Mohammad Shahzad ended a colourful innings of 51 by chipping a catch off him to mid-on.
Shahzad is the AA XI’s wicket-keeper and is part of the inspirational Afghanistan team that qualified against odds most would never consider part of a cricketer’s lot for the last World Cup. His batting reflected those uncertainties, being almost a shot-a-ball. Yet, most of them were pretty fine, especially the brace of cover driven fours he took off Anderson.
He attacked Swann, when the spinner was first introduced, and didn’t stop despite others falling to him. Pakistan’s batsmen will try a similar tactic, for if they can prevent Swann holding up an end for long periods (something he didn’t achieve after failing to bowl a single maiden in his 23 overs), pressure will be applied on the other three bowlers in England’s favoured four-man attack.
His innings was more pro-active than Viljoen’s, which began as dour survival before expanding to strokeplay as he ran out of partners. Viljoen, who plays for Namibia, has never made a first-class hundred in 24 matches and he wouldn’t have got close but for a valiant 45 from Boyd Rankin, who kept him company in a ninth-wicket partnership worth 95 runs.
Rankin departed to the third delivery of the second new ball, brilliantly caught by Finn at extra cover off Anderson. Viljoen was on 94 at the time and when he belted Broad for four off the first ball of the next over, a celebration looked likely.
Reacting to his adrenalin, Broad banged the next two balls in short. But having ducked the first, Viljoen swished a wild cut at the second and, after a heartbreaking interlude in which he watched as Anderson ran back from second slip to take a brilliant catch somewhere near third man, he knew it wasn’t going to be champagne this time, at least not at the king’s ransom demanded for it around here.
Scoreboard:
ICC Combined XI 1st innings
- Porterfield c Davies b Broad 1
- Coetzer c Davies b Broad 1
- Saqib Ali c Swann b Finn 14
- Williams c Davies b Swann 34
- Mohammad Shahzad c Broad b Anderson 51
- Viljoen c Anderson b Swann 98
- Rankin c Finn b Anderson 43
Extras: (lb3, w1, nb2) 6
Total: 281
Fall of wickets: 1-1 (Porterfield), 2-10 (Stirling), 3-11 (Coetzer), 4-52 (Saqib), 5-82 (Williams), 6-90 (Nabi), 7-122 (Shahzad), 8-181 (Haq), 9-277 (Rankin)
Bowling: Anderson 19-6-48-2 (nb1), Broad 16-6-42-3 (w1), Finn 17-3-60-2, Swann 23.3-0-99-3 (nb1), Trott 2-0-6-0, Pietersen 6-0-23-0
Overs: 83.3
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England 1st innings
Total: (without loss) 16
Bowling: Hamid 2-1-4-0, Viljoen 1-0-4-0, Nabi 1-0-8-0
