However, the Lord’s Test will be only the ninth time in his career that Broad has taken the field without his senior partner at the other end.
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GARY BALLANCE has suffered a fitness scare ahead of the first Test against Pakistan.
And there is a strong desire to make a different impression this time round.
“I was nervous at Trent Bridge”, he said, 11 months on.
“I want him to take five wickets in this Test match to get his name back and to get his image back which has been spoilt”. It is an alliance that was cut short after only two Tests back in 2010, at The Oval – where Riaz’s first-innings five for 63 on his debut set up a Pakistan win – and then Lord’s.
“Runs are important as that’s what keeps you in the team”, the right-hander added.
“He was with us past year in the Ashes when he was injured and in Durban during the winter, when we beat South Africa”.
The absence at Lord’s of both Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler is a reminder, depending on a tendency to optimism or pessimism, of the talents England can turn to if they need to down the line or the ones which will be missing in the first instance.
Even so, he is steeling himself for repeat circumstances. “No matter how good you are, if you sell your soul for 30 pieces of silver, you have to pay the consequences and I don’t think he has”.
“We could go bang, bang and put them under pressure straightaway”.
So who is Jones and how did he make it to the England squad? I don’t want to speak for him but he will be disappointed he is not in the squad.
“I’m sure there was a huge temptation to have him in a 13-man to let Jake and Toby learn from him leading in”. That way you have a chance of him nicking off. But you have to be consistent and patient.
Asked if Amir would get a tough reception from the Lord’s crowd on Thursday, Brearley replied: “None of us are without mistakes and he was a young fellow and misled”.
Meanwhile, England are hopeful batsman Gary Ballance will recover from a groin injury in order to make his Test comeback.
“If it’s cloudy weather, the ball starts to swing more”, Wahab explained.
“I think our biggest challenge is going to be this wicket, because you look at all the Middlesex scores and they are all bore draws – 500 plays 500”, he concluded. “They got wickets with lbws and bowleds so it will be about adjusting as quickly as possible”.
“You don’t take it for granted first time round, but you maybe just appreciate it more when you get a second chance”.
It all means that extra responsibility falls on Broad.
Amir feared he would never play cricket again when he was handed a prison sentence following the investigation.
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Ramiz Raja believes Mohammad Amir’s return to Test cricket may not offer enough deterrent against spot-fixing.
