With their backs against the wall, Stuart Broad feels its do or die for England at Lord's

In my book, Joe got the declaration spot on: Broad

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Stuart Broad
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Stuart Broad of England. (Photo by Philip Brown/Getty Images)

England premier fast bowler in Tests, Stuart Broad, feels that it’s now or never for England in the 3rd Test at Lord’s with the three match series locked at 1-all. Broad also gave credit to West Indies for making a fantastic comeback in the series with their 5 wicket win in Headingley. He then shared his views on the declaration from Root in the 2nd Test.

Much had been talked about the quality of the West Indian squad in England post their humiliating defeat in the First Test at Edgbaston. Cricket Pundits such as Michael Vaughan and Geoffrey Boycott heavily criticized the Maroon cap after they were dismissed twice on the 3rd Day of Edgbaston Test match.

However, West Indies came back brilliantly in the second Test match after priceless contributions from Kraigg Brathwaite and Shai Hope in both the innings of the Test match. Shai Hope scored centuries in both the innings while Brathwaite was five runs shy in the second innings to bring up the same feat.

“Lord’s has now become do or die. Yes, we’d rather have wrapped up the series by now, but to be pitched into a high-pressure battle in our last Test before the Gabba on November 23 is no bad thing. Not only is a series up for grabs, but there’s a chance for guys to book a place on the flight to Australia. It’s exciting,” wrote Stuart Broad in his column for Daily Mail.

“We’re frustrated we lost, and we know we made some serious mistakes, but huge credit must go to West Indies for the way they fought back after Edgbaston. We never got sucked into the argument that they were ripe for another beating after that first Test,” added Broad.

Broad on Root’s declaration

“In my book, Joe got the declaration spot on. It wasn’t his fault the bowlers didn’t take wickets and the fielders dropped catches. And it wasn’t his fault that the pitch didn’t deteriorate at all — it just got slower, as Dawid Malan showed by grinding out a valuable 61 in five hours,” justified Broad on behalf of Root who optimistically declared with 322 runs on the board on 4th day and a couple of wickets in hand.

“And that meant Joe needed to tempt West Indies with a target that encouraged them to play a few shots and go on the drive. If they’d shut up shop, it would have been very hard to take 10 wickets. It was hard enough as it was,” concluded Broad.

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