England take aim at Warner
Fast bowler Stuart Broad says Australia’s on-field behaviour has been fine, but off-field there have been issues.
Broad, who has been targeted by Australian crowds in the early stages of this series, said he had no problems with the sledging that went on during the first Test.
But he intimated the Australians may have been guilty of crossing a line off it.
“The on-field stuff has been fine,” Broad said from a sightseeing trip to Uluru.
“You’re playing in an Ashes Test match against Australia. You expect it to be tough.
“I grew up hearing all sorts of stories about sledging and on the field I don’t think a line’s been crossed.
“It’s been tough. We’re grown-up.
“We train ourselves to expect that.
“Off the field there have been some mistakes made. As an England side we pride ourselves on how we conduct ourselves with the opposition because you never know what’s going on in the opposition changing rooms and lives.
“We just need to stay away from that, I think we have the balance OK at the moment.”
Broad appeared to be making a reference to Warner who took his opinions off the field when he described England batsman Jonathan Trott as “weak” and “scared” in a press conference during the first Test.
Trott subsequently returned to England with a stress-related illness.
The paceman’s comments follow England coach Andy Flower’s criticisms of Warner.
Broad, who claimed eight wickets in Brisbane, says the crowd’s jeering didn’t bother him.
“The boos didn’t affect me too much, picking up eight wickets in the game. That can stand me in really good stead for the rest of the series,” he said.
“Picking up five-fors in losing Test matches doesn’t mean a lot because it’s about the result.
“This match was slightly different because of the pressure and different things going on with how the Australian people have reacted.”
Australia’s 381-run win in the Brisbane Test has left the tourists to contend with a number of issues.
They need a new No.3 batsman to replace Trott and a stronger resolve in general from their batsmen, while in the bowling department their third seamer Chris Tremlett is under pressure for next week’s Adelaide Test.
But Broad is adamant his side can retain the Ashes despite the slow start.
“Adelaide will be a huge Test match to get back into the series,” he said.
“We have confidence from winning there last time (in 2010).
“But we won’t put ourselves under the pressure of making it a must-win game.”
Broad says England need to simply get back to doing their stuff as they have in the past few years, and that includes making a big total in the first innings.
England play a two-day match against a Cricket Australia Chairman’s XI in Alice Springs starting on Friday.