Stuart Broad glad he missed IPL

Gros Islet, St. Lucia:

Stuart Broad said he'd no regrets about missing out on the Indian Premier League (IPL) after helping bowl England into the final of the World Twenty20.

The 23-year-old pace bowling all-rounder took two wickets for 21 runs as England thrashed Sri Lanka, last year's losing finalists, by seven wickets in a one-sided semi-final at the Beausejour Stadium here on Thursday.

Broad, one of the stars of England's 2009 Ashes series win over Australia, could have played in the IPL, a Twenty20 domestic competition in India which attracts some of world cricket's leading players.

But he decided his body needed a break after England's (northern) winter tour programme.

"There was a lot of talk about whether going to the IPL would have helped me going into the tournament," Broad, the man-of-the-match against Sri Lanka, told reporters.

"I am sure it would have done, it would have been fantastic to learn some more skills in different conditions.

"At the time my body needed a bit of a break after a tough winter in South Africa and Bangladesh and I feel fresh."

Broad and Ryan Sidebottom both showed considerable nerved in repeatedly deploying the slow bouncer, a delivery a batsman might easily turn into a long-hop, to good effect against Sri Lanka.

"The batsmen tell us what they've found it difficult on certain wickets," Broad said.

"We just thought that the slower the ball, with these big boundaries, the harder it would be to hit," added Broad, the son of former England opening batsman and current International Cricket Council (ICC) match referee Chris.

"My personal theory was to try to bowl as slow as I possibly could and try to make the batsmen put all the pace on the ball to clear the ropes.

"It's a lot of practice in the nets. What I try to do is mix it up with a decent-paced ball as well, because there's no point letting the batsmen get completely settled into what you're doing."

However, Broad said he would likely employ different tactics in Sunday's final on the faster Kensington Oval pitch, where England will face either defending champions Pakistan or arch-rivals Australia.

"But that will potentially all change, looking at the wicket in Barbados. We might have to adjust and play differently there."

England have never won a major limited overs tournament and their last experience of a final was at the 2004 Champions Trophy, when they lost to the West Indies at the Oval.

Paul Collingwood, now England's Twenty20 captain, is the only survivor from that side in the squad and Broad said of making it through to Sunday's showpiece: "It's huge. It's something only Colly has the experience of, playing in an ICC final.

"The great thing is the confidence and the fantastic team spirit, wanting everyone to do well and enjoying each other's success."

And with England in good form, Broad had no complaints about turning down a potentially lucrative IPL deal.

"I think that's been an important thing in this side that everyone has felt fresh. I can't look back and moan at any of my decisions, I took them for the right reasons and hopefully, on Sunday, the very right reasons."