Broad to keep mean streak
England fast bowler Stuart Broad says he has no intention of curbing his temper ahead of the winter Ashes series.
Broad is well known in the game for being over aggressive at times and often saying things that land him in trouble with the umpires and the England staff. This was demonstrated perfectly during the second Test match against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755 when Broad threw the ball at Zulqarnain Haider after a war of words.
However, Broad says that this is part and parcel of his game and he won't change being aggressive for the sake of keeping a few more people happy. He will be under pressure during the Ashes this winter to keep a lid on his temper if things don't go his way.
Broad's attitude can be viewed in a positive and negative sense. The only person being punished at the end of it all is Broad who has now been fined part of his match fee on more than one occasion.
Positives to Broad's attitude
It is very positive for a side to have a bowler leading the attack who is clearly not prepared to let another side push him around. Broad does this very well and he often talks to the batsmen between balls in order to put them an edge and to force a mistake.
Being aggressive is simply a way of dealing with the pressure of playing for England. Broad tends to funnel his aggression more into energy and this is reflected through the long spells that he can now bowl at extreme pace.
His attitude lifts the side. It often takes one of the bowlers to start sledging the batsmen between balls to raise the concentration and awareness levels of the whole side. There is no harm in this as long as the sledging is not over the top.
Broad said: "You have to have a part of you like that as a bowler - that fire in you to keep going. I love having those battles. I am certainly not going to rein back too much. It is important as a bowler that you always need to have a presence. If you lose that you lose quite a bit, a big part of your armoury. It comes naturally with me, and at times it is a huge advantage."
Negatives to Broad's attitude
The biggest negative to Broad's attitude is that it gets him in to trouble on too many occasions. He has lost thousands of pounds through being fined match fees and this is something that can easily be avoided.
It's important to remember that any player wearing an England shirt is representing the country and if Broad is always seen to be having a go at other players and the umpires then it reflects badly on the rest of the country.
He added: "I accepted the punishment that was put on the table, and have moved on from that. There are no hard feelings between the teams. I spoke to the wicketkeeper afterwards, and he knew I was not aiming at him - We need a strong performance at Lord's. But it is a fantastic ground to play on, and we've had plenty of success there in the past."
Betting advice
Whether you love or loathe Broad's attitude, you cannot argue with the fact that he is an extremely fast bowler who takes a lot of wickets. Have a punt on him right now to take the most wickets in the 2010-11 Ashes series because he has all of the right attributes needed to do so and his attitude shouldn't be a problem.
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