The phrase "a go-to man" may be modern and inelegant but we know what it means. In today's terminology Winston Churchill may have been the "go-to politician" of the 1940s; Bruce Forsyth is obviously a "go-to light entertainer" whatever the decade. And currently Stuart Broad is England's "go-to cricketer". He is the man to get the team out of a hole. In the more distant past it was Ian Botham; not so long ago it was Andrew Flintoff.
It was to Broad that Andrew Strauss went on the first day, when his beanpole fast bowler defied the conditions to take four for 47 on the sort of track that can induce nightmares among fast bowlers. And on the third morning out Broad came to bat with a bravado that only Adnan Akmal in Dubai has matched in the series so far. Cracking an unbeaten 58 from 62 balls, Broad gave England a route to victory in a pulsating morning session, during which 116 runs were scored from 26 overs.
Broad the batsman was infuriating in Dubai, especially in the second innings, when he was out trying to clear the fielder at long-on. Such a dismissal felt like a dereliction of duty; it also felt an unjustifiably arrogant way to go.
England were in the mire yet here was a cricketer with pretensions to being a genuine all-rounder (after all he already has a Test century to his name) gifting his wicket and ensuring that the game did not have to drift into the fourth day.
Having criticised his approach to batting in Dubai we must now applaud his derring-do in Abu Dhabi. This time the match was in the balance (his only excuse in Dubai might have been that the game was up); England had faltered badly on Thursday evening. Their impetus lost, there was a danger than they might subside meekly against the Pakistan spinners on Friday morning.
It was immediately apparent that Broad was not going to die wondering. His first stroke was one of those paddle-sweeps; he had been dismissed in Dubai – in the first innings – trying one of those and received some flak in the process.
This time he made enough contact to get off the mark. Here was a reminder of the margin between success and failure. It was a brave little stroke. But had he succumbed again pencils — even this one, I suspect — would have been sharpened.
It takes a special bravery to attack in this manner on the international stage, when every shot is under the microscope, to open oneself up to the possibility of failing spectacularly as well as succeeding. The safer option is to spend a bit more time prodding and poking, thereby avoiding too much censure.
Broad is a big enough character to take the more dangerous road. Which, of course, is what Botham was always prepared to do, Flintoff too.
Thereafter Broad played some terrific shots: a six-over midwicket off Abdur Rehman; a sumptuous drive over mid-off against Saeed Ajmal, an even more startling one against Umar Gul in his first over with the second new ball.
There were some inside edges as well but usually the ball sped from the middle of his bat. Broad was always aggressive but seldom reckless.
This was a treat for the crowd. Yes, there was a crowd, substantially bigger than we have sometimes witnessed when Pakistan have been playing in their own country. Post Friday prayers, the grassy knoll to the right of the pavilion filled up with locals. It is not an easy ground to reach without wheels but on arrival there was the compensation of knowing that there was no admission charge, an enlightened policy.
There was a proper atmosphere on what might well qualify as the best day of Test cricket in the UAE so far.
Immediately after lunch Broad was left stranded. He might have received more support but it is a feature of this England side, unlike the one inherited by Duncan Fletcher back in 1999, that there are always possibilities of the sort of tail-end wag that can decide the outcome of a match.
On Friday Graeme Swann only flickered. Yet he hit three of the most sumptuous boundaries of the match. No one times the ball better; he always offers hope. Likewise Jimmy Anderson is one of the most improved batsmen in the team. Only Monty Panesar can be regarded as a rabbit (though remember Cardiff 2009).
But it was Broad who led the charge. Soon he was out there with the ball, less flamboyantly, bottling up one end, trying to induce an error. He could not break through.
But if Strauss is starting to wonder where the next wicket is coming from on Saturday we know in which direction he will be looking. Towards Broad.
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