BROAD’S 100 TESTS
Maybe my dad will admit I’m the better player now!
SOME of my earliest memories are of watching my dad bat in the famous 1986-87 Ashes when he scored three hundreds. I remember trying on his England caps and jumpers and looking at his man-ofthe-match medals. That can only make you want to play for England.
In the back garden with my mates we’d always play England v Australia. One week I’d be Australia opening the batting as Hayden and Langer and the next England. We’d tape the ball up, have nets up as fielders, and play proper games of cricket all weekend.
I remember playing in some teams as a youngster where my teammates would get in trouble with their parents if they played a bad shot. Mine were never like that. They taught a valuable life lesson about enjoying sport and even to this day I play my best cricket when I’ve got a smile on my face.
You never sit down as a kid and say, ‘This is exactly what I want to achieve’. But you know it would be a dream to play for your country.
About 18 months ago my dad was at a function in Sri Lanka when he was introduced as ‘Stuart Broad’s dad’. It was the moment he finally accepted that my career had overtaken his and he texted me to admit defeat.
I’d been called ‘Chris Broad’s son’ until about the age of 26, and even today I’m still called Chris more than Stuart. But that moment in Sri Lanka was a turning point for dad. He effectively handed over the mantle to me at that point.
I played for Leicestershire in 2005 and it all happened really quickly from there. I made my ODI debut for England in 2006 and then my Test debut in 2007.
When you are told you’re playing in a Test you’re not allowed to tell anyone because they don’t want the team to be announced before the Test. But I got told at training the day before by Vaughney [Michael Vaughan], who was captain.
I called my mum and asked, ‘What does the number 638 mean to you?’ She didn’t have any idea. I said, ‘That’s my England Test number’.
She was teaching at school so couldn’t come but the next morning my stepdad and sister had flown out to Colombo without me knowing. It was only when I got to the ground that morning that I saw them.
I was given my cap by Sir Ian Botham. I’d obviously dreamt about my Test debut, but when I look back now, while getting your cap is special, it’s the memories you make in that cap that it’s all for. Whether it’s one Test match or 100 Tests — which I’ll celebrate if I play in both the Tests in Bangladesh.
Matt Prior and I played in most of each other’s Test matches and we came up with a routine where we’d dash a little bit of champagne on our Test caps. It means they stink now but it’s just another little addition of memories we’ve shared in them.
MY CAREER HIGHS
Taking eight for 15, 2015 Reclaiming the Ashes at Trent Bridge in 2015, taking eight for 15 and doing that at my home ground was obviously fate — someone must have been looking down on me from above that week.
I look back on the first day of that Test with enormous pride but also in a blur because, even today, it still feels a bit unreal. Among my victims that day was Michael Clarke, who I’ve dismissed quite a few times by bowling a bit fuller and looking to attack his knee roll.
The Saturday of that Test we wrapped things up in the morning and celebrated pretty much all day. Becoming world No 1 side, 2011 Beating India at The Oval to become world No 1 was very special. We’d worked so hard as a team and as a group of players, it felt as if we had strengths from one to 11.
Strauss and Cook consistently got a good start, Trott, who I’d pick to bat for my life, at three, the flair of Pietersen and Bell in the middle who scored big runs. Morgan added flair at six, Prior would come in and whack it at seven and then we had England’s best ever off-spinner at eight in Graeme Swann. Our seam attack put other teams under pressure.
It was probably the most complete team I’ve ever played in. We just knew our team-mates would do their jobs. The current team is the most exciting I’ve played in with the likes
of Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Jonny Bairstow who can take the game away, whereas that 2011 side just turned up and did the business every day. It was un-English to be so ruthless and they were a mirror image of their captain, Strauss. Taking six for 17 at Jo’burg, 2016 My six for 50 at Durham in 2013 to wrap up the Ashes was special but bowling a spell like that at the Wanderers was unbelievable. The Wanderers is the kind of place you walk into, even when it’s empty, and just say ‘Wow!’ I got more messages as a result of that spell than I did for the Australian one.
MY CAREER LOWS
Whitewashed 5-0 by Australia Nothing, in sporting terms, can ever be more brutal than this.
Neil Fairbrother, a great friend of mine, was in the crowd in Brisbane and he tells the story of watching me going out to join Root, whose eyes were like a rabbit’s in the headlights, with Mitchell Johnson on a hat-trick. Neil felt Johnson was bowling the quickest spell he’d ever seen live.
It was incredibly intimidating but it was wicked to know not many people would ever experience something like that. We had blokes in the changing room over 40 saying, ‘This guy is bowling seriously rapid here’. If they couldn’t deal with it, how the hell was I supposed to?
HIGH AND LOW IN ONE
‘Spot-fixing Test’, Lord’s 2010 v Pakistan Even today, I don’t know what to feel about that Test. To score my first and only Test hundred so far and put on a massive partnership with Trotty was incredible but for the Test to be remembered for the spot-fixing scandal that blew up half way through it means it will be forever tarnished.
BIGGEST INFLUENCES
Peter Moores grabbed me at a young age and enabled me to really under- stand cricket. He has this amazing ability to put younger guys under the sort of pressure you need to train at to reach a certain level. He’s probably helped more cricketers reach the top of their game than anyone I know.
Andy Flower taught me the toughness I needed to achieve sustained success at the top. I may not do it consistently week in and week out but I’m very proud of the fact I’ve been there in the big Test matches. And I put that down to Andy.
We went through a 24-year period of getting smashed by the Aussies but Andy changed our mindset and taught us not to bow down and accept a thrashing every year. He’d smash a door in, grab you by the visor in the nets if you weren’t playing well. He was passionate about his team doing well. He could be scary, in a good way.
Chris Woakes in his first England net played a loose drive and Flower was down there and had him by the grille. ‘This isn’t f*****g county cricket now,’ he said. Woakesy’s eyes were on stalks.
As a teenager I opened the bowling at Leicestershire with Ottis Gibson and he’s gone on to become my bowling mentor with England. No one knows my action better than Ottis. In fact, he knows my action better than I know my action. He’s helped me with everything. He’s always there for me on the phone, good or bad.
I’ve worked with some brilliant bowling coaches and David Saker
was tactically second to none but to become the world’s No 1 bowler with Ottis by my side was just amazing. The grin on his face when I got down to breakfast at Jo’burg made my tour.
It bugs me when people talk only of batting partnerships. I’ve been very lucky to open the bowling with Jimmy Anderson. As bowling partnerships you have to apply pressure from both ends to put world-class batsmen under pressure and over time we’ve learned how to do that.
MOST MEMORABLE WICKETS
AB de Villiers, Durban 2016 I got him with a little leg-cutter. We’d spent so long discussing De Villiers and Amla as their key men and I made a point of saying, ‘When they come in to bat let’s swarm them with fielders everywhere’. To get him early in the series meant so much. He is a world-class player so to do him with a leg-cutter on a drying wicket was right up there. Hat-tricks I’ve been lucky to take two Test hattricks — one was the forgotten hat-trick because I didn’t even realise it had happened — but running in to bowl at Trent Bridge with Praveen Kumar at the other end in 2011, the noise in the ground was incredible. It felt as if the ground was shaking. 300th, Chris Rogers at Trent Bridge 2015 With Jimmy Anderson out injured, I was under a lot of pressure going into that Test and to get Rogers caught behind in the first over was magic. I’d worked so hard on bowling to left-handers with Ottis Gibson, so to get Rogers with a near perfect delivery at such a crucial time made it all worthwhile.
HARDEST TO BOWL TO
I’ve never bowled to anyone as good at picking up length as quickly as Ricky Ponting. He just latched on to anything back of a length and gave me nowhere to go.
Hashim Amla could punish you all around the ground. He has such a calm temperament and I can never remember him looking even vaguely flustered.
Brad Haddin was a real street-fighter who played some knocks at seven that really hurt us down the years. He seemed able to hit your best deliveries to places you didn’t think they deserved to go. And I have to include Shane Watson — the sheer power with which he hit
the ball made it a real challenge.
MYM TEST CAPTAINS
Michael Vaughan welcomed me into the side when I made my Test debut in Colombo in 2007. He was very calm, tactically smart but always made the bowler feel like they were making the decisions, even if Vaughney actually was. I only played two Tests under Kevin Pietersen so it’s hard to assess his captaincy skills. But you can’t help but admire the way he put all the hoo-hah around him getting the captaincy to one side and made a superb hundred at The Oval on his captaincy debut. Andrew Strauss was an incredibly meticulous captain who dovetailed brilliantly with Andy Flower as coach. He was the most vocal captain I’ve played under. He wanted bowlers to go at 2.5 an over and if you didn’t, you weren’t going to play. Alastair Cook is less vocal than Strauss but has grown into a fine tactician after taking criticism early on. No one has led from the front better than Cooky. His batting record is up there with the very best. His players are in awe of his quality.