The Ashes is here, and it brings the best of cricketing action on the world stage. It’s not just about the oldest rivalry in cricket, it’s also about key battles between individual players. One of the most awaited battles in this Ashes is the one between Austalia’s David Warner and England’s Stuart Broad. In the last Ashes, Broad got Warner seven times in 10 innings, which was the batter’s poorest returns in any series. In this piece, we will have a statistical look at this player battle and analyze who has the upper hand this time around, given that the Ashes is in Australia.
Game of Averages
It’s easy to expect that Broad will be dominating Warner after what happened in 2019. But the conditions will be a lot different than what they were back then. Warner averages 63.21 at home and against England, he averages 60.25. Yes, Broad has troubled Warner in England, with the opener averaging a mere 18.8 against Broad, getting out eight times, but in Australia, the average goes up three times to 52.
Last two Ashes in Australia
The scenario of the series will also dictate this player battle, as their respective team’s form will play a huge role in their confidence and ability to dominate. Australia dominated the 2017-18 Ashes, and Broad was not able to get Warner’s wicket even once. Australia won that series 4-0, and after clinching the series in the 3rd Test, Warner scored 245 out of the 441 in that series in the last two matches, scoring two fifties and a century in the three innings.
The 2013-14 Ashes will be remembered as the Mitchell Johnson Ashes, as he picked up 37 wickets across five matches and played more than a crucial role in the 5-0 whitewash of England. That series also saw the best of Warner, as he made more than 500 runs, with two centuries and two half-centuries to his name. Broad did manage to get him out four times in the series, but the damage had already been inflicted by the batter and the entire team.
Broad, and his bowling partner, James Anderson, have always been seen as a deadly opening pair, at least in England, but they have struggled when they go to Australia due to a combination of factors. Warner’s average against Anderson is above 50 in Australia. Broad took 11 wickets in the 2017-18 series and 21 in the 2013-14 series. But despite his efforts, England lost nine of those ten matches.
Conclusion
The first Test is at Gabba, and England will surely remember what happened when Australia last played a test match there. The home team was defeated at their fortress after 32 years and England will take lots of confidence going into the first game. It is also Broad’s favorite hunting ground in Australia, with 12 wickets at an excellent average of 24, including his only five-wicket haul. Warner has four 100’s at Gabba, and he would love to score one in the opening match.
Broad is returning after an injury he suffered in the first Test against India earlier this year and might take some time to get match fit. Warner’s stats suggest he has everything in his favor, and the player will be high on confidence after playing an important role in Australia’s success at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. He was named the ‘Player of the Tournament’ in the T20 World Cup, and that came after an IPL season where he was written off by the team management and also some cricket fans. Warner has always proved himself whenever there have been doubts, and he, along with the entire Australian team, will hope to turn around his record against Broad in the upcoming Ashes.