The Ashes: James Anderson & Stuart Broad primed for Adelaide battle



James Anderson and Stuart Broad have won 53 of the 124 Tests they have played together.

The dates are 16 and 20 December.

The highlights show on the iPlayer, ball-by-ball commentary on Test Match Special, live text commentary, features and analysis on the website and app are included.

James Anderson and Stuart Broad were the subject of a lot of talk before the first ball was struck in the winter.

The first Test in Australia was left out of England's two most successful fast bowlers to keep them fresh for the second Test in Australia.

The idea was that they would be the most effective under the lights, and both men are in England's 12-man squad.

There is a lot to suggest that England made the right decision to hold the pair back.

What do the statistics say?

There are 1,156 Test wickets.

Anderson and Broad have played in all four of England's day-night Tests. Broad has taken 10 in 27.3 while Anderson has claimed 14 in 19.3

Three years ago, Anderson's best-ever Test figures in Australia came under the lights in Adelaide. The Australians were out for 138 in the second day.

England have not won a day-night match since they played the West Indies at Edgbaston in the summer of 2017.

Why is the pink ball important to England?

England arrived in Adelaide down by one but are not out of the woods.

The pink ball behaves differently to a red ball, and this will be key to England's chances of getting back into the series, despite Australia's 100% record under lights in eight outings.

Steven Finn, a former England bowler, said that the pink ball retains its hardness and shape better than a red ball.

The shine of the lacquer on the ball means it never loses it's shine, so it almost behaves like a new ball for the entire time.

The ball kicks and zips off the pitch as the lights come on during the twilight period, if it is not soft from being bashed around for 60 overs.

This is where Anderson comes in...

What will Broad and Anderson do on the field?

Anderson is the best at finding and manipulating swing.

Finn, who played 36 Tests, said that Jimmy has the ability to swing the ball both ways.

He is one of the best in the world at making the ball talk when it's swinging, if England end up bowling in that twilight period with a newish ball.

If you have someone like Jimmy in your team, you can throw the ball to him and let him do his thing.

England's seamers did a good job, but they missed the control Anderson offered.

Anderson's control is anunderappreciated part of his game, and one that will be key in the Tests.

He said that control means that when the conditions don't suit him, he can bowl to a particular plan, such as hanging it outside off stump with really disciplined lengths.

It is not easy to master that skill. It's good to have him through those periods so the Australian batters can't take advantage of the favorable batting conditions.

He finds a way to be effective even when the conditions don't favor him.

Broad has a point of difference when it comes to Australia's heavy top-order.

Broad's ability with the new ball could stifle Australia in an effort to get off to a fast start, despite David Warner's troubles against him.

"Australia's batters played really well to the right-arm bowling of England, which they stuck to for the majority of the time in Brisbane," Finn said.

Broad will bring a different angle of attack when he comes around the wicket, attacking the stumps and both edges of the bat with hopefully helpful conditions at some stage.

Warner will be watched by England. The highest score by a left-handed player in a day-night Test was 335 not out by him against Pakistan at Adelaide.

What about off it?

Broad wrote in his newspaper column that he was disappointed to be left out of the opening Test, but he was ready to go.

It's not often that both players miss the same Test, given how important they have been to England's success.

They bring a wealth of experience and a calmness that will be helpful to the players in the high stakes of the match.

Finn said that at the start of his Test career, he found that he could be frenetic and not deal with the pressure situations as well as he wanted.

Your decision making can get confusing. To have someone like Jimmy out there to be that calming influence and almost affirm decisions is an important element.

Broad might be the cartoon villain for Australia fans, but his competitiveness is a key element for Finn.

Finn said that he had seen him in dressing rooms where he looked fired up.

"He talks about it a lot but when you're at mid-off you really see it; he picks his knees up, attacks the crease and more often than not does what's required to get the team back into the game."