Ex-England captain reveals Stuart Broad predicted Steve Smith’s Ashes dismissal

Chasing 281 to take a 1-0 lead in the five-match series, Australia moved to 61-0 before Ollie Robinson found the edge of dangerman David Warner.

Broad then nicked off Labuschagne and Smith to leave Australia 107-3 at stumps, 174 adrift of the fourth-innings target.

Smith has tormented England’s bowlers in multiple Ashes series but contributed just 22 runs at Edgbaston, with Broad’s plan to widen the angle from his release point working a treat.

‘It’s brilliant bowling from Stuart Broad, it really is,’ Ex-England captain Hussain said on Sky Sports.

‘Steve Smith has this trigger that takes him way outside off stump, he knows exactly what he’s doing. He gets into the position he’s been in all his career.

‘He tries to make the adjustment to play it straight but he still nicks it. But the brilliance comes from the other end, the brilliance comes from Broad.

‘He actually text me a week ago saying: “I’m going to go wider on the crease and bowl fourth stump to Steve Smith.”

‘He’s gone wider of the crease and bowled fourth stump to Steve Smith and got him out. There were two deliveries Smith struggled with and both were wider of the crease.

‘We know Smith knows his game and knows his angles, so you have to change it at the other end. Cricket is all about angles.

‘Smith is like a machine, he’s a problem solver. But at the other end Broad was messing with that machine by creating a different angle and in two deliveries he got him in a tangle.’

After the conclusion of the first Test in Birmingham, England and Australia travel to London for the second match at Lord’s on June 28.

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