Brisbane, Dec 12 (IANS): England pacer Stuart Broad stated that the team has no time to feel sorry for themselves after what happened in the first Ashes Test at The Gabba. He added that in day-night Test matches, which will be the norm in the second Test at Adelaide, one has to quickly recognise and adapt to changing conditions. England are 1-0 behind in the five-match series after losing by nine wickets in four days.
"There is no time to feel sorry for ourselves, dwell on not batting, bowling, or catching very well. We know that's the case. We board the flight to Adelaide on Monday and our training from Tuesday has to be focused on how to win a pink-ball Test. Batting and bowling styles for that will be a contrast to those on display at the Gabba," wrote Broad in his column for Daily Mail on Sunday.
Broad went to explain the adjustments in strategy when a pink-ball Test match happens. "Timing is very important in floodlit Test matches. Conditions change very quickly in certain periods, so you have to recognise them and adapt. That might mean backloading your seamers to bowl in the twilight period when batting tends to be more challenging, and so the spinners and all-rounders have to do more work upfront."
"What length is going to hit the top of the stumps with that ball? We have seen when the Australians have done damage with the pink ball in previous Adelaide matches, it has come from a slightly fuller length. Trent Boult, of New Zealand, did some awful damage to us in Auckland from a full length. So, you need to be aware of moments when it looks tough for the batters, then pounce."
Broad cautioned England against going into the match with pre-conceived ideas while stressing on adapting to conditions. "There will also be moments when you need to sit in. David Warner got a triple hundred in a pink-ball game at Adelaide Oval, so we can't just think it's going to nip around. We have to adjust quicker than Australia with whatever is presented to us. Not prejudging is important, as we saw in Ahmedabad earlier the year when we anticipated a seam-friendly contest and the ball turned square from minute one. It was all over in four sessions."
On his own preparation for Adelaide Test, the 35-year-old insisted he was working hard in nets with pink ball. "Personally, I have tried to get a step ahead these past few days. When I was told I wasn't playing, it was straight to the nets, pink ball in hand and I have been bowling in the nets with Jimmy and Craig Overton all week."
Broad signed off by saying that England will have to go in Adelaide with a positive mindset and move on from drubbing at The Gabba. "For the players that took the field for us in Brisbane, I am sure there are many moments they would want back but you don't get that in top-flight sport, you only get the chance to recognise how it felt, think about how to improve and then put that improvement into action at a new venue."
"More importantly, what specifically can we channel positively into Adelaide? What we mustn't do is carry negatives with us for the next month. We've done that on Ashes tours past and consistently lost. We must pretend it's 0-0 in a four-match series and go again."