The wickets tumbled on the second day of warm-up cricket at the Three Ws Oval and never more so than on the stroke of tea, when Stuart Broad offered a reminder of his penchant for a burst by claiming his third hat-trick in the whites of England.
Broad was returning for his second spell of the day against the President’s XI when, with thoughts turning to refreshments in 30-degree heat, he exploited the capricious pitch to remove tail-enders Alzarri Joseph and Miguel Cummins lbw in the space of two balls.
After an over of Moeen Ali, Broad stood at the end of his run and, with a wry smile, started a slow handclap to rev up the sparse crowd. While this was not entirely forthcoming, Broad still steamed in, teasing an edge from the No 10, Bryan Charles, that Ben Stokes snaffled low at second slip.
This intervention, which became four in five balls after the interval when the Test-capped Jermaine Blackwood slashed to slip in his second knock of the day, does not go on Broad’s first-class record due to the nature of the two-day training game, and clearly won’t rival his Test hat-tricks against India in 2011 and Sri Lanka in 2014. It was nevertheless the highlight of a day when England’s bowlers reduced their hosts to a farcical 203 for 19 (nineteen) by the close, with Jimmy Anderson looking grooved after figures of four for 12 from 14 overs. The only black cloud came with the news that Olly Stone, the uncapped fast bowler, is now ruled out of the tour following the detection of a stress injury to his lower back.
“Maybe 16 January is my lucky day – it was three years ago I took six-fer at The Wanderers [against South Africa]. It’s just a shame this wasn’t a Test match,” said Broad, who finished with four for 19 from 10 overs. “I would love three Test hat-tricks, so maybe this was just good practice.”
On Stone, a replacement for whom is yet to be announced, Broad added: “It’s hugely disappointing. He felt sharp pain in his lower back the other day and that’s a sign of a bone reaction. He’s a fine bowler and I’m sure we’ll see him in an England shirt soon.”
These are interesting times for Broad, who sought advice from Sir Richard Hadlee at the end of the English summer. He received a detailed two-page reply from the New Zealand and Nottinghamshire great and has shortened his run-up, both for greater efficiency and to extract more bounce by standing taller at the crease.
This follows previous work on his wrist position after last winter’s Ashes defeat but it remains to be seen whether he shares the new ball with Anderson or Sam Curran in next week’s first Test at the Kensington Oval. The Dukes ball used in the Caribbean has more lacquer than its English cousin and can potentially swing for longer. But England may still want their best exponents used up front given cloud cover is fleeting. The 20-year-old Curran met the brief in the morning, sharing four for 13 with Anderson in the first eight overs as the hosts endured a horror start.
While Anderson got one over John Campbell thanks to a loose drive (the recent Test call-up was later run out from the long-on boundary by the sub Joe Denly), Curran followed his dismissal of the wild Blackwood with a beauty that angled across Sun Ambris and feathered his outside edge.
It was injury to Curran that brought Jonny Bairstow back into the side in Sri Lanka and, with the Yorkshireman cementing his place with a fine century, and Jos Buttler due to return, England may well stick with the five-bowler policy come the first Test. Stokes, who sent down seven overs here, would be the fourth seamer ahead of Chris Woakes and, unless the pitch looks conducive to turn, Jack Leach may miss out.
It would make Moeen, who took two for 33 from 14, the only frontline spinner, with Joe Root, who took three himself during some late chaos, as support.
