“There will be no excuses”: Stuart Broad explains the importance of the upcoming Test series against India

Senior England bowler Stuart Broad has expressed his thoughts for the upcoming high-voltage Test series against India. The five-match leg is starting in the first week of August at Trent Bridge in Nottingham – which is Broad’s home ground as well.

Broad, who is the second-highest wicket-taker in Tests for England, said there would be no excuses when the Joe Root led side will battle it out against the Virat Kohli and Co. in the red-ball series. He explained how due to hectic schedules and COVID-19 protocols, they set up a weakened side against New Zealand, which led to their first Test series loss at home in seven years.

The Nottingham-born asserted that they had to rest some of their star players in the two-match leg against New Zealand for the upcoming mega-events like Test series against India, the T20 World Cup and Ashes 2021 in Australia.

“It’s heartbreaking to lose a first home Test series in seven years but let’s be realistic due to schedules, Covid and bubbles, we were a weakened side. We will want our full-strength team on the field against India in the Twenty20 World Cup and the Ashes. If we had our top team against New Zealand, where would we have given players a break? However, there will be no excuses when it comes to results from the India series onwards,” Broad wrote in his column for Daily Mail.

In the lost series against New Zealand a few days ago, England’s batting was largely criticised by some of the former cricketers and veterans of England cricket. Ex-England skipper Nasser Hussain had lambasted the approach of English batters, especially in the Edgbaston Test. Reacting to the disapprovals, Broad said that this is an essential part of the game and such analysis are an integral part, specifically at the high level.

“I had sympathy for some of the batsmen when their techniques were being dissected, but at the top level, you also deserve criticism at times. We drove at balls we didn’t need to drive at, were dismissed in ways that New Zealand planned to dismiss us — falling into traps is actually the most disappointing thing in Test cricket for a batsman,” explained Broad.

Before facing India in the Test series, England are set to play three T20Is and as many ODI fixtures against Sri Lanka starting on June 23 in Cardiff.