'Pretty characterless and soulless' - Stuart Broad slams Edgbaston surface as batters continue to dominate in first Ashes Test

Veteran England pacer Stuart Broad is very upset with the surface of Edgbaston as he believes that it is pretty characterless and soulless and thus, the home team hasn’t been able to attack much with the ball in the first Ashes Test of the summer.

Notably, after declaring on 393 runs on Day 1, the Ben Stokes-led side had a tremendous start with the ball, sending back David Warner (9), Marnus Labuschangne (0) and Steven Smith (16) rather early on Day 2. 

However, opener Usman Khawaja played some phenomenal cricket as the 36-year-old hit his maiden international century in England. Travis Head and Alex Carey supported him well in the middle as the visiting team is 82 runs behind at stumps on Day 2.

Meanwhile, Broad added that it was a gruelling day for the bowlers at Edgbaston, as the pitch barely supported the pacers. However, he remains hopeful that the conditions will change, and they can create some impact on Day 3 of the first Test.

“How can I be polite (about pitch)? It is a very slow, low surface that zaps the energy out of the ball. It is pretty characterless so far, pretty soulless, but you can only judge a surface towards the end of the match and see how it develops. It is difficult to create a mistake from a good length but that can change in a day, that’s the exciting thing about Test match cricket. The conditions keep evolving and changing. 

“We have had two days of sunshine, we come back tomorrow, we may have cloud and it could swing a little bit. It is certainly one of the slowest pitches I can remember bowling on in England. It has been hard work for the seamers and ultimately we are looking to entertain, have fun and get the crowd jumping, and it is quite a difficult pitch to get play and misses on and nicks to slip on. So hopefully it is not a trend for the whole series. It’s been a gruelling day on a pitch that has offered very little so far,” Broad was quoted as saying by The Telegraph.

Notably, England failed to capitalise on multiple opportunities on Day 2. Stumper-batter Jonny Bairstow failed to stump Cameron Green, while Joe Root dropped Carey’s catch on when the left-hander was batting on 26.

On the other hand, Khawaja was given a second life after Broad dismissed the southpaw on 112, but the umpire called it a no-ball as the bowler had overstepped. Thus, the home team definitely needs to have a better day going forward in order to make a comeback in the match, since many have already questioned their declaration in the first innings on Day 1.