England Test captain Ben Stokes compared Stuart Broad's dominance over David Warner to that of Ravichandran Ashwin against him. Stokes justified his Broad's inclusion for the first Ashes Test at Edgbaston, stating that it's hard to look past the right-arm seamer, given the hold he had against Warner four years ago.
England announced their playing eleven for the first Test with three frontline seamers in Broad, James Anderson, and Ollie Robinson alongside a lone spinner in Moeen Ali. Broad's seven dismissals in ten innings of Warner by going around the wicket became one of the highlights of the series.
Speaking at a press conference ahead of the Test, Stokes asserted that they are quite happy with the team they have picked.
"It’s just one of those things – like Ashwin against me. ‘Broady’ has been an unbelievable performer over many years. What the Ashes brings, it’s so hard to look past someone like that. It’s so hard to look past Jimmy and ‘Robbo’ as well, he’s been incredible over the last year in all conditions. I’m very happy with the team we’ve ended up picking."
Pat Cummins expects David Warner to be more aggressive in the Ashes series
Meanwhile, Australian captain Pat Cummins trusts David Warner to right the wrongs of the 2019 Ashes series by looking to play in an attacking manner. He spoke at a press conference:
"I'm sure he's thought about it a lot over the last couple of years hoping to get another crack at it. Davey will have all his plans in place. I'm sure you'll see a bit more of an aggressive Davey than what you saw in 2019 and he's itching to get out there and have another chance at it."
At present, England have won the toss and chosen to bat first at Edgbaston. Australia have dropped Mitchell Starc for Josh Hazlewood
