Stuart Broad says England saw the return of a more “niggly” David Warner during the Third Test at Headingley - and expects more of the same at Old Trafford on Wednesday.
Broad has dismissed Warner four times in six innings this series, with the Australian opener reaching double figures just once, when battling hard to 61 in the first innings at Headingley.
Warner also struggled in his new fielding position at slip in the first two Tests of the series, but returned to form in Leeds with a series of very sharp catches.
Much has been made of Warner’s reinvention into a more mellow character since he spent 12 months banned from international cricket for his part in the sandpaper scandal last year.
But Broad believes he was back to his old self in Leeds.
“Credit to Warner at Headingley, that morning was probably as good a time to bowl as you’ll get in Test cricket: cloudy, heavy, swinging, seaming,” said Broad.
“He might have played and missed a lot but he got through that period and got a pretty crucial fifty.
“He’ll take confidence from that. He changed his mindset slightly and became that sort of bullish character again: a bit more niggly in the field and on the pitch.”
Broad said he and Warner had not argued yet in the series.
“We’ve not had any crossed words in this series,” he said. “You can tell he changed his mindset to be a bit more in the face of the opposition and that suits him better.
“He played really well and took good catches at slip. So we’ll expect the same again at Old Trafford, we’ll expect him to come out and be that niggly character on the field he so often is and we need to combat that and dismiss him quickly.
"Because we know if we get Warner with that new ball we can expose Steve Smith to a harder ball and that’s what we want.”
This is the fifth Ashes series Warner and Broad have come face to face and while Broad now has the upper hand, Warner has been on top previously.
“It’s been a great battle so far,” he said. “I’ve really enjoyed it. I had to look quite closely pre-series. I’d say Warner up until this series had the better of me really.
“I don’t want to take too much credit that I’ve out-thought him or anything - it’s the fact that it’s been a really good time to bowl with that new ball.”
