England to release ‘caged tiger’ Stuart Broad on the Aussies in Sydney

Ollie Robinson makes way with a shoulder niggle to give Broad the chance to prove there is still plenty of juice left in the tank

England will release their ‘caged tiger’ Stuart Broad on the Aussie batsmen to try and restore some much needed pride in Sydney.

Broad is the only change to the England team who took the field in Melbourne with Ollie Robinson making way with a shoulder niggle, the same injury keeping Chris Woakes out of action.

And after making his feelings clear at having missed out in Brisbane and Melbourne in his newspaper column, the 35-year-old bowler has a point to prove this week.

The same could also be said of Ben Stokes who has described his own tour so far as ‘pretty average’ and is badly need of a performance to lift his and the team’s spirits.

Stand-in head coach Graham Thorpe said: “I’ve a couple of caged tigers coming into this match. Ben being one and Stuart Broad another.

“Getting guys into the right frame of mind is important. They’ll want to put in a performance for themselves and the team. That’s been our focus in the last couple of days.

“I’ve had to let them off a little bit. Enjoy what they’re doing. Have fun. Get that tension out of the body. But at the same time, get focused for day one.

“I want them to be able to perform to the best of their ability. Seeing them in training, that’s what I’m seeing. Guys who want to put in performances.

“It’s a wonderful cricket ground to play at. To have that fight and competitiveness is going to be very important this week.”

Scott Boland, the hero of the MCG, has been given the nod to keep his spot with Josh Hazlewood not quite recovered enough from a side strain to be able to take part.

It means there is just the one change to the Aussie team, with Usman Khawaja slotting into the middle order as expected for the Covid positive Travis Head who remains in isolation.

Skipper Pat Cummins said: “It would have been a real shame to see Scotty not play this week after his efforts last week.

“I spent about five years sitting on one Test and I hated when people talked about it because I felt like I hadn’t proven anything.

“He’s bowling as well as he ever has, it’s great that he can keep going from last week.

“We gave Josh every chance we could, just felt like he couldn’t bowl at full tilt. We’re still hoping he’ll be right for Hobart.”