Broad: I was raging at Ashes axe – but it is different this time
Bowler promises not to complain if he is dropped England to host Zimbabwe for first time in two decades
Stuart Broad was “raging” when he was left out of the England team for the first Test of the last Ashes series but says he has changed and would accept not being picked at Edgbaston next week.
Broad did his chances of playing no harm by taking five for 51 to set up the win against Ireland last week but with James Anderson, Ollie Robinson and Mark Wood all expected to be fit for the Ashes opener, he could be edged out of the attack.
The injury to Jack Leach has raised the possibility of an all-seam attack in Birmingham and Broad’s hold over David Warner will also boost his chances of playing. It is the trickiest selection decision of the Ben Stokes era.
Broad has done little to hide his disappointment when not picked in the past. He was angry in Brisbane when he and Anderson were not selected for the first Ashes Test on a green Gabba pitch. The year before he had lambasted the selectors when he was left out of a Test against West Indies because England wanted extra pace.
But since then his position of seniority in the team has eroded, he is no longer first choice and he has more respect for the current management than he did for those making decisions in the past.
“Brisbane I was raging. So yeah, I’ve definitely changed,” Broad said. “In a good way. I see my role as striking when I get the chance but also, we won’t be having interviews like the Ageas Bowl. I’m very comfortable whether I play the first, second, third, fourth or fifth Test, so long as I strike at some stage.
“I’m just really enjoying the environment. Communication is really clear. It doesn’t feel like if you’re not in that first XI at Edgbaston that you won’t be in the first XI at Lord’s. It doesn’t feel like a closed shop.
“Ultimately I’m just really enjoying being around the group. The culture that Baz [Brendon Mccullum] and Stokes have created, it is a one in, all in. So if I play only one game and we lift the urn, that’s a massive tick in England cricket’s box. It’s not about me, it’s about the collective.”
Broad is the only fully fit senior bowler and does have a good record at Edgbaston, averaging only 24. England will be happy to play Wood three times, and there is an argument he may be better suited to Lord’s, where extra pace is needed.
However, that would run contrary to Mccullum’s aim of playing the game in front of them, rather than planning for the next one down the line – something that hampered England in Australia 18 months ago. Broad said in Sydney that had to stop. “Can we get back to the real basics of what’s ahead of us right now? How are we winning this next Test match?” he said.
Hence pragmatism now about his own place. “I think ultimately as a team we’re going to need every bowler, and we’re going to need to take 100 wickets to win the Ashes,” he said. “My ultimate aim is to be fit and fresh and playing at the Oval [fifth Test]. That means I’ve done my job for the group.”
England players have been rallying around Leach since it was announced on Sunday that he would miss the entire series with a back stress fracture. “I texted him to let him know we were all in it for him,” Broad said.
England, meanwhile, are planning to host Zimbabwe for the first time since 2003, and could invite them and Bangladesh to play Test cricket at Lord’s.
The England and Wales Cricket Board cut ties with Zimbabwe in 2008 due to the political situation in the country. Inviting the nation for a Test at Lord’s, which is keen to continue to stage two Tests a year, would mark the resumption of relations.
And while England did tour Bangladesh for a white-ball series last winter, they have not hosted them in any format since 2010.
In 2024 and 2025, England are set to play only five summer Test matches, so a slot could potentially be found to fit in a sixth game.