Broad back for England in only change for Sydney Test

England on Tuesday recalled veteran bowler Stuart Broad to partner Jimmy Anderson in the fourth Test against Australia in Sydney, the only change to the side that meekly surrendered the Ashes last week.

The seamer comes in for Ollie Robinson, who has been rested for a clash in which the tourists are playing for pride after three heavy defeats in Brisbane, Adelaide and Melbourne.

Robinson is the only England bowler to have played in all three previous Tests and pulled up with a shoulder niggle after their crushing innings-and-14-run defeat in the third Test in Melbourne.

Chris Woakes is also dealing with a shoulder problem, ruling him out of a potential return.

It opened the door for Broad, who will play alongside Anderson for only the second time this series after Adelaide, bolstering an attack also featuring Mark Wood and spinner Jack Leach.

“We felt like it was too much of a risk to go in with a couple of lads who are carrying niggles,” said batting coach Graham Thorpe, who is acting coach for the fourth Test with Chris Silverwood isolating after a family member caught Covid.

“So therefore, it was right to bring Stuart back in.”

Ben Stokes will add support to the attack and Thorpe said he hoped the star all-rounder would finally make his mark after a disappointing tour so far.

“I hope we’ve got a couple of caged tigers coming into this match, Ben being one of them and Stuart Broad another,” he told reporters at the Sydney Cricket Ground on the eve of the match. 

“Getting the players into the right frame of mind is important. I think they want put in a performance for themselves and collectively for the team.”

There was no change to the batting line-up that was skittled for just 68 in their second innings last week, with openers Haseeb Hameed and Zak Crawley both surviving.

With Rory Burns and Ollie Pope already dropped from the side following the second Test in Adelaide, Dan Lawrence was the only other frontline option yet to play in this series.

“We’ve got an opportunity this week at a great cricket ground to put in a really good performance,” Thorpe added.

England: Haseeb Hameed, Zak Crawley, Dawid Malan, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler, Mark Wood, Jack Leach, Stuart Broad, James Anderson