Broad credits Moores and Manek following opening Ashes blitz.

After Stuart Broad’s successful start to the Ashes, the Outlaws fast-bowler was quick to ensure that two members of the Nottinghamshire coaching staff earned their share of the plaudits.

The 33-year-old took 5-86 on the opening day of the series, becoming the 13th England player in history to reach 100 wickets against Australia.

And Broad revealed that a nugget of advice from his county Head Coach and Analyst held the key to that success.

"The crucial thing in top-level sport is to always look to improve," he said after the close on the opening day.

"That's been a philosophy of mine ever since Andrew Strauss took over as captain, as he wanted his players to do that.

“And I felt that, aged 32 or 33, it was a good time to give my game a tweak and take it to a different level.

"So, I changed my run-up in Sri Lanka and the Caribbean. I wanted to shorten my delivery stride to get a bit more bounce and potentially pace. And I've felt in great rhythm since doing that."

Bowling with rhythm is all well and good. It’s also about line and length.

In an elite sporting environment where the margins between success and failure are small, one piece of insight can - and has - made a significant difference, according to Broad.

"Peter (Moores) and our analyst at Notts, Kunal Manek, came to me three or four weeks ago and told me my leave percentage was a bit higher than my norm," Broad explained.

"So, in the last month, I've been challenging myself to make the batsmen play as often as possible. That's been my number one goal.

“I'm focusing on getting the batsman to play every ball. And today my leave percentage was under 15%, which is really low as my average can be between 25-26%.

“It's a little thing, but it's brilliant coaching and analyst work.”

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There are four further opportunities to catch the Outlaws in T20 action at Trent Bridge this summer, with the next home game under the lights against Birmingham Bears on this coming Friday 2 August.

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