'It's an Aussie change-of-luck thing' - Stuart Broad opens up on bail flip tactic

Stuart Broad's astute sportsmanship added a touch of drama to the ongoing Ashes series as the veteran pacer managed to unsettle key batter Marnus Labuschagne by switching the bails on his stumps to break his 81-ball vigil on second day of the fifth and final Ashes Test at the Oval. 

Immediately after Broad's cunning move, Mark Wood delivered a brilliant ball, and England's former captain, Joe Root, executed a brilliant one-handed catch at first slip to dismiss the struggling Labuschagne. This breakthrough helped England restrict Australia to 295.

Interestingly, the idea of changing the bails as a superstitious practice to change the luck seems to be an Australian tradition, as revealed by Broad. He shared how he had seen Nathan Lyon, an Australian cricketer, adopting this tactic in the past.

We needed a breakthrough, I thought I'd have a little change of bails: Stuart Broad

"I've heard, and I might have made this up, that it's an Aussie change-of-luck thing, and I think I've seen Nathan Lyon do it. But we had a few play-and-misses in the morning session, we needed to make a breakthrough and I thought I'd have a little change of the bails. It worked out pretty magically that Marnus nicked off next ball and Rooty took a great catch," Broad said as quoted by Mirror.co.uk

Broad even humorously mentioned that during his celebration with non-striker Usman Khawaja, the latter jokingly warned him not to touch his bails, lest he switch them back immediately.

“I randomly went and celebrated with Uzzy (non-striker Usman Khawaja) for some reason and he said, 'If you touch my bails, I'm flipping them straight back', so he gave me an immediate warning," revealed Broad.

Meanwhile, the final Ashes Test is proving to be a fascinating display of skill, tactics, and superstitions, with Broad's innovative sportsmanship adding an intriguing twist to the age-old rivalry.