England seam bowler Stuart Broad has said that he is ready to face a possible 'mental barrage' in the form of verbal sledging by Australian players to unsettle him and his teammates when they come to Australia to defend the Ashes urn in the return series.
Brisbane will host the first winter Test match on November 21, less than three months after England completed a 3-0 series victory at home, News.com.au reports.
Stating that ill-tempered relations between the two nations are unlikely to have improved by then, Broad, who has been selected in the 17-man squad for the series alongside a recalled Monty Panesar and uncapped Boyd Rankin, Ben Stokes and Gary Balance, said that he felt that there may be 'leftovers' from the contests in England.
According to Broad, there is always a bit of a dispute in Test cricket, adding that the battle grows even more whenever the Test happens between England and Australia as the relationship between the teams is not that good given the little jollity between the two sides at the traditional post-series drink which followed the fifth Test at the Kia Oval.
However, Broad is relishing the prospect of another aggressive series as England chase a fourth straight Ashes win, saying that he enjoys verbal sledging, adding that although Australians call it as mental disintegration, he believes it is a test of a player.
