Stuart Broad is only just coming to terms with the bowling spell of a lifetime, one which stunned all those who witnessed it and which provided a moment of welcome closure for both bowler and captain. England will surely have to wait many years for another like it.
Aside from the Ashes-winning immediacy of Broad’s eight for 15 blitz at Trent Bridge, there was a significant, personal symmetry at play. It was on the same ground in 2013 that he provoked Australian ire by refusing to walk when edging Ashton Agar to slip, becoming persona non grata on the following tour amid visceral accusations of cheating.
Broad took the flak as well as he could, yet two years later there seems almost a relief that his previous indiscretion – or bravery, depending on one’s view – has been replaced in the minds of many by one of the most remarkable Test hauls in recent memory.
His astonished face when Ben Stokes plucked Adam Voges’ edge out of the air will undoubtedly be remembered as the image of this series. People have approached Broad in the street replicating the shocked expression as his hands rose to his face in bewilderment, a striking picture that was plastered on the front and back pages of newspapers in Britain and in Australia.
“The 2013 series was remembered for me not walking, which I thought was a little bit unfair,” says Broad. “It didn’t annoy me because I was still playing but, if I’d have finished after 2013, I think it would have frustrated me that that was a big story around my career.
“The biggest thing about the eight-for really is that it probably puts that Trent Bridge memory to bed a little bit, the ‘not walking’, and I’ll remember it for winning the Ashes there in 2015. You do get remembered for certain things in your career and hopefully they are positive ones.
“People have been walking past me in the street doing that face. It makes me a bit self-conscious – ‘What have I got on my face?’ – but it’s been good fun, I’ve quite enjoyed it. I certainly didn’t think about doing it or plan it. It was just genuine amazement at the skill Stokesy showed. I saw Theo Walcott doing it, I’ve got a Twitter video from Lancs Under-12s all doing it. It’s a bit strange.
“You get those sort of spells once in a lifetime. Sometimes it’s for school or for a club. But to do it against Australia at my home ground, it’s not even your dream come true because I’d never have dreamt I could do something like that.”
Australia’s defeat by an innings and 78 runs spelled the end for Michael Clarke, an unhappy denouement 10 years after making his first appearance in England as a bleachy-haired youngster. Broad has dismissed him more times than any other bowler and will hope that success continues when Clarke takes the reins for his final match at the Kia Oval on Thursday.
It is a Test that England are determined to win. For Alastair Cook Broad’s spell at Nottingham was also a seminal moment. After relentless criticism of his captaincy and form, amid all the Kevin Pietersen farrago and ECB wrangling, that morning at Trent Bridge will have tasted even sweeter, as Australia’s defences crumbled to leave English hopes so nearly fulfilled.
Broad revealed that Cook has been increasingly focused in recent months, phoning members of the team last week to emphasise the importance of a 4-1 series victory. It was not so long ago that serious questions were asked about the affability of the England team, yet Broad believes Cook has striven to create a more open culture within the dressing room, something that has proved crucial to recent performances.
“He was calling everyone to say: ‘Look, let’s make sure we turn up on Monday knowing that we’re in a battle and that we want to start again because I’ve got a burning desire for this to be 4-1,’” says Broad. “He admitted after Trent Bridge that his stubbornness sometimes got the better of him. From what I gather, he has been talking a lot more to ex-players about captaincy and learning from people. I think we went through a period as a team when we wouldn’t speak to any of our ex-players and it was like us versus them.
“This new open theory, started by Peter Moores and with Andrew Strauss carrying it on, has helped. Go to Michael Vaughan in the morning and say: ‘What do you reckon here?’ He tells you – and that can set your mind at rest. And the way Ian Botham has been coming over and encouraging people – I’d played for six or seven years and never really spoken to Beefy. Now he is coming over to the team and going: ‘Come on, boys, let’s get this done today.’ It gives you a huge lift as a team.”
Discussing the captain’s future, Broad added: “Cooky has really taken that on board and I think it has opened up his mind; and his captaincy has certainly been a bit more proactive and with more flair. I hope he carries on because I think the team needs him. He’s our leader.”
Stuart Broad is an Investec cricket ambassador. For more information visit investec.co.uk/pb
