Yes we are two down but this feels completely different to last time at this stage when we were in Australia. Four years ago we were getting heavily beaten, but in this series we’ve really been competing in the Tests. We are well in the contest but haven’t been good enough at crucial stages.
As a bowling group, having had Australia 209 for seven and 209 for five, we wanted to bowl them out more cheaply than we did, but we’ve been pretty happy with the way we’ve bowled. We moved that pink ball a lot in the second innings in Adelaide and we put the Australian batsmen under a lot of pressure.
We haven’t scored the runs we need to in Australia and we are gutted to be 2-0 down but there’s no feeling sorry for ourselves in the dressing room and we still feel we’re in this series.
A bright spot as Stuart Broad (left) celebrates a wicket with Chris Woakes and Joe Root
Despite the Australians winning in Adelaide Broad is still bullish about England’s prospects
Putting them in
Hindsight is a wonderful thing and certainly the Adelaide pitch did more as the second Test went on, but we have to admit things didn’t work out for us after putting Australia in. Yes we could have bowled fuller on the first day but the pitch was probably at its slowest and we didn’t get the chance of a second new ball under lights because of the rain. We still got ourselves in a decent position and there wasn’t a single person in the ground who thought Shaun Marsh wasn’t out at an early stage of his century when DRS decided the ball was going over the top. When little things go your way it’s a completely different picture.
Putting them in didn’t work as the scores got lower as the game went on but we did get ourselves into positions where we should have done better. They were pretty unknown day-night conditions so it’s harsh to use previous Adelaide history against us. In England, we have this saying that you have to look up rather than down when you win the toss, but here you have to remember the pitches stay pretty much the same throughout the five days. So maybe it’s a learning curve.
Mitchell Starc celebrates taking Broad’s wicket during day five of the Second Test match
Having a word
The first point on the amount of sledging between the teams so far is that you’re playing for your country in one of the biggest series you will ever experience so you have to show passion, character and fight.
Cricketers who win the Ashes are very competitive and fight all the way and I think a lot gets made of the words exchanged when it very rarely gets personal. The point of sledging is not to spout nonsense but to get the opposition out of their comfort zone and their bubble to affect their performance.
Actually I think we did it relatively successfully at Adelaide and you could argue Australia did it successfully at Brisbane. As long as it doesn’t cross a certain line and a code the players follow then it’s fine and I love it. I thrive on it. I think it’s an exceptional part of the game and there’s a reason why people show an interest in sledging whenever you do a Q&A session. People want to hear the best stories about being involved in Ashes cricket.
Broad shakes hands with Joe Root after England’s defeat in the Second Test match at Adelaide
A haul is on the way
Numbers-wise I’m not happy with my series so far because I haven’t got the wickets I would have liked, but I’ve performed a role for the team successfully so far. I’ve gone at barely two an over and, at Adelaide, beat the bat as much as I have done in any Test for years.
It was frustrating but the more you play the more you realise things can turn for you very quickly if you keep doing the right things.
My wickets usually come in clusters and I feel I’m bowling well enough, beating both edges of the bat, for them to come soon in this series. My action is getting to where I like it to be and I think a haul is round the corner.
Broad walks off the pitch at the Adelaide Oval after the defeat but says he’s bowling well
Recharging batteries
It has been absolutely crucial for us to have a chance to get away from cricket and recharge our batteries over the last couple of days. Some people might wonder why the guys are not always training or in the nets when you have lost a couple of games but cricket is such a skill-based sport it can be very mentally tiring. So a huge part of the modern game is making sure you’re fresh for the next challenge and I won’t bowl again now until Monday which gives me a nice physical break. You can’t be at a cricket ground on every day of the tour.
Make-or-break time
The WACA is a great place to play and it’s one of those special venues you look at as a kid and want to play at. England’s record, of course, is not great there at all but records are there to be broken and we’ve got players who should be well suited to Perth. The extra bounce should be to Mark Stoneman’s taste, for instance, at the top of the order.
We need to adjust quickly to the WACA’s characteristics but we’ve got players who have experience of the ground and we have to make sure we’re on the money. I believe we’ve played some very good cricket here but we haven’t beaten Australia yet and we need to do that now.