Stuart Broad can win over the Australian fans by taking a leaf out of David Warner’s book, according to former England captain David Gower.
Broad is likely to be on the receiving end of an Australian backlash following his decision not to walk in the opening Ashes Test match at Trent Bridge this summer, with England going on to record a 3-0 series win.
Australia coach Darren Lehmann was fined by the International Cricket Council after calling on the home fans to “get stuck into” Broad in the return series, adding he hoped the Nottinghamshire man “cries and goes home”.
But Gower reckons Broad needs to respond to any ill feeling in a light-hearted fashion, much like Australia batsman Warner did after England fans made him the pantomime villain following his altercation with Joe Root earlier in the year.
“It will be interesting to see how it does work,” Gower told Press Association Sport.
“He might have a tough time to start with. Not everyone will be as crass as to just pick up on those words the other day and make life hard for him all the time.
“He is a good player and a tough individual but the best thing for him to do would be to take leaf out of David Warner’s book and just play with it.
“If you go down there and you are expecting to cop a bit, and whether or not Lehmann said what he said, they would cop it anyway because it is the nature of the beast but if you can run with it and smile with it to win people over and perform well it would sort out any situation.”
Gower enjoyed success in his career when playing in Ashes series in Australia and believes any England player can endear themselves to the partisan home crowd if they show their abilities.
“I did well down there and that is the key,” he added.
“If you do well they will respect you. I loved playing in Australia because they are good crowds.
“The initial thing is that Australian crowds want Australia to win as English crowds want England to win and there are always the elements within those respective crowds that may take it too far.
“But the great bulk of the cricket-loving public in both countries appreciate skill.
“When you go down to Australia they don’t want you to win but if you perform well and do it with a certain style they will understand that and appreciate that.
England won the last Ashes series in Australia in 2011 before retaining the urn this summer.
And Gower is backing captain Alastair Cook and his players to do the same this time round.
“I’m pretty sure they can win Down Under because I still think we are the stronger team,” he said.
