How Stuart Broad conjured up a ball with Marnus Labuschagne’s name on

P erhaps the best part of the big Stuart Broad set-piece on the second morning at Edgbaston, one of those moments where the wind seems to change, the dogs miaow, the birds fly backwards through the sky and the clock strikes Broad o’clock, was the introduction of mimicry, physical comedy, improv into the usual routine.

Broad was always going to do this at some point. He’s a montage bowler. Every Ashes has its sequence, from failing to walk, to Brisbane T-shirts, to hands-over-the-face human-meme stuff at Trent Bridge. This time the talk will be mainly about the dismissal of David Warner, because this has been the chief pre-series narrative; and Broad duly delivered here too, dismissing Warner for the 15th time in Test cricket.

But it was the ball after that provided the most brilliantly curated moment of sporting theatre, as Broad had Marnus Labuschagne, the No 1 batter in the world, caught behind first ball. This was a dismissal with three key ingredients. Energy and vibes (naturally). Long term mind-game planning. And finally, almost an afterthought here, a piece of brilliantly-executed skill with the ball.

The planning was key. It is two months since Broad announced the discovery of a devastating new delivery, the away-swinger. Even better this was an away-swinger tempered very specifically for this moment.

“It’s designed, to be honest, for Marnus,” Broad had dropped in, casually seeding the moment like a master wartime propagandist. Disappointingly, he stopped short of giving it a name. The Drifter. The Fader. Maybe even the Marnus, the ball that literally has your name on it.

Next there was the addition of physical comedy to the moment. Labuschagne had marched to the wicket in that distinct fashion, the gait of an