Former England fast bowler Stuart Broad has warned that the second Ashes Test in Brisbane will be unpredictable, with the toss likely to be decisive in a pink-ball match. Australia have dominated day-night Tests, winning 13 of 14 such fixtures, their only defeat coming at the Gabba last year against the West Indies.
England, by contrast, has won just two of seven pink-ball contests and has struggled in Australia, losing all three of their day-night Tests there — in Adelaide in 2017 and again in 2021 in Adelaide and Hobart. Historically, England has not overturned a first-Test deficit in Australia since the 1950s.
“Pink-ball Tests are a bit of a lottery,” Stuart Broad, who has played in every one of England’s matches under lights, said on the For The Love of Cricket podcast. “Timing when you bowl with the brand-new ball is vital. Winning the toss and batting first has real value in my opinion.”
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Australia secured a commanding win in the Perth opener, a chaotic two-day match defined by batting collapses and Travis Head’s match-winning 123. Mitchell Starc ran through England’s line-up, claiming ten wickets in the game, and remains the leading wicket-taker in pink-ball Tests globally — a clear threat England must plan for.
Broad emphasised the tactical advantage of batting first under lights. Set a target before the ball gets abrasive, and you often force the opposition to bowl with a tougher, newer ball as conditions change.
“If you bat well you can control when you bowl in the game and in the day,” he added, underlining the strategic nuances that make Gabba Tests so hard to predict.
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With Australia 1-0 up, stand-in skipper Steve Smith will lead the hosts at the Gabba, and England face a steep challenge to level the series. Discipline, adaptability and precise execution will be crucial if the visitors are to wrest control back from a team that has made day-night Tests a speciality. England must improve discipline, technique and shot selection under pressure. Urgently too.
