BROADside! Coach tells bowler to buck up and drop the defeatist attitude

By Paul Newman

PUBLISHED: 05:11 EST, 27 November 2012 | UPDATED: 18:06 EST, 27 November 2012

Wicketless: Broad has struggled in India

England will consider leaving one of their most influential players, Stuart Broad, out of the crucial third Test after his anaemic performances in India.

The vice-captain was a bystander in the historic win here in Mumbai and it emerged on Tuesday the tourists will not hesitate to drop a bowler who has been one of their outstanding cricketers over the last four years.

The morning after an epic day dawned with Steven Finn, who was set to play an integral role in England’s attack in India before injury, beginning his attempt to prove his fitness for next week’s Kolkata Test.

Finn played for the England Performance Programme squad who have just begun their own month-long tour of India and took four for 60 in 16 hostile overs against a Mumbai side to enhance his chances of  returning at Eden Gardens.

If he has no reaction from the thigh injury he suffered in the first warm-up game of the tour, he will become a strong contender and, with England sure to retain two spinners, it is Broad’s place that is under threat.

The choice of David Saker, the fast-bowling coach, to face the media yesterday looked a curious one in the aftermath of such a spin-dominated triumph until it became clear that he seemed anxious to provide Broad with a public kick up the backside.

Vice-captain: Broad is second in command for England

Chat: David Saker talks to James Anderson (right) during a practice session

‘He needs to front up and find out what’s the best way to go about it over here,’ said Saker.

‘He has to find ways to survive in India. The great fast bowlers have had success here. You can’t just think that the fast bowlers won’t have much influence. A defeatist attitude like that is pretty much not accepted.’

Broad was the leading Test wicket-taker in world cricket in 2012 ahead of this tour and is highly regarded by  England but has had an anonymous two matches on spin-friendly pitches, bowling 12 wicketless overs for 60 in the first innings here and not even being used in the second.

His unhappy tour was compounded by a Twitter spat with Sir Ian Botham after the first Test that earned him a rebuke from Andy Flower.

‘I just think he’s lacking a bit of confidence and finding it really difficult to get his head around maybe changing the way he bowls in India,’ continued Saker. ‘If you bowl wide of the stumps here you get hurt. We did discuss that before this trip, how bowling straight is crucial, and we watched a lot of footage of the teams who have come here and done well.’

Broad, as Twenty20 captain, is a member of the management committee here and, in theory, would be in on the discussions over his own place but England are clearly preparing him for the possibility of bad news.

Saker confirmed that Broad was unwell ahead of the second Test, as revealed by Sportsmail last Friday, but that he had insisted he was fit enough to take his place.

‘He had a bit of illness and he was asked on the first morning of the Test whether he was good to go and he said yes,’ said the Australian.

Knocking on the door: Finn plays for the Performance Squad this week

‘If the coach says, “Are you all right to go?”, and you say yes then to me you’re 100 per cent fit. If you’re not sure, it’s a decision for the captain and coach, but he said he was right.’

Now Saker accepts that he must play his part in restoring the brio that has made Broad such a confident and successful competitor for England.

‘I’ve been blessed in that I haven’t had to do a lot of hard yards as a bowling coach but now, with Tim Bresnan and Stuart of late, we’ve had to have some good talks and maybe some tinkering with actions.

‘The key is holding your length and line. It’s an old adage but if you bowl at the stumps you’ve a chance.  Stuart probably just hasn’t played that well in these two Tests. Maybe he’s looking for something that isn’t there. He’s asking questions that probably don’t need to be asked.’

Saker insisted that he has every confidence in Broad should he remain as one of only two seamers in England’s Kolkata line-up but clearly he would like to see Finn’s extra height and bounce added to the team.

‘Finn has been monitored the last few days and he’s playing this game with the Lions squad so if he gets through there’s a good chance he might play in Kolkata,’ said Saker. ‘He’s a special talent and has the pace we probably need for this place. We’d like to get him. It will be an interesting selection call if he is fit.’

There was a feeling of satisfaction here among the England squad on Tuesday but there is no question that another defeat would have led to some tough questions being asked within the camp.

Saker added: ‘I was questioning myself as to whether we were doing the right things, and if I’m doing that I think others in the camp were wondering if we were going in the right direction too. But it turned out to be as good a win as I’ve  experienced with this group.’

Meanwhile, England are considering adding another spinner to their squad after the spectacular success of Monty Panesar and Graeme Swann.

They are concerned they have no specialist back-up and could fly in James  Tredwell or turn to Lancashire’s slow left-armer Simon Kerrigan, who took four wickets for the Lions on Tuesday.

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