Stuart Broad reflects back at his Test career before 100th Test

England bowler Stuart Broad reflected back at his Test career in an exclusive with the Sportsmail. Broad has played 98 Tests for England so far. The two-Test match series against Bangladesh will see Broad play 100 Tests for England. The pace bowler has come a long way since he made his debut against Sri Lanka at Colombo. Having completed almost a decade in Test cricket, Broad spoke about the highs and lows of his Test career so far.

Broad recollected his earliest memories of cricket when he saw his father Chris Broad play in the 1986-87. Chris had hit 3 centuries in the Ashes that year. He said watching those Man of the Match medals motivated him to play for England. “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-of-the-match medals. That can only make you want to play for England,” quoted Stuart.

Stuart Broad was the 638^th player to represent England. He said that it was the then captain Michael Vaughan who informed him about his selection. He called up his mother and broke the news to her. “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’,” recalled Broad.

Among the highs of his career

Talking about the highs of his career, Stuart Broad remembers taking 8/15 at Trent Bridge in the Ashes as the highest point of his career. Reclaiming the Ashes is the best feeling that he ever got.  “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,” quoted Broad.

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He also mentioned that becoming the number 1 ranked team in Test cricket after beating India in 2011 was a high point in his career. ‘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,” he added.

He further went on to describe his 6-wicket haul at Johannesburg in 2016. He bagged 6/17 in that match. 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,” said Broad recalling that moment.

Among the lows of his career

The only low point that he described in his career was being whitewashed by Australia in the Ashes. “Nothing, in sporting terms, can ever be more brutal than this,” remarked Stuart Broad.

The weird one

Broad scored his career best of 169 against Pakistan in 2010. It remains to be his only Test century till date. He recalls that series and the match as the most weird one where he had his high and low in the same match. He was happy for his century but felt sad for the fact that the match is known for spot-fixing scandal.

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“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,” pointed Stuart Broad.

Remembering the most memorable moment

Dismissing AB de Villiers at Durban in 2016 is his most memorable moment of his career, admits Broad. He went on to explain how he had planned to set AB de Villiers and Hashim Amla for the game. “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’,” he explained.

“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,” he added.

He further named Ricky Ponting, Brad Haddin and Hashim Amla as the toughest batsmen he has ever bowled too.