Stuart Broad: Ultimate competitor, serial match-winner

Stuart Broad refused to walk after almost middling the ball to slip in Nottingham in 2013. While many suggested the edge was too thick for him to stand his ground, Broad went on to defend his decision many times over the years. It was a big moment and would eventually become a deciding factor in the game and the series.

The Aussies were not impressed at all. Darren Lehmann, then head coach of Australia, called his act "blatant cheating". Brisbane's Courier Mail paper silent-banned Broad, deciding against naming him and instead using phrases such as "Phantom Menace" and "27-year-old Medium Pace Bowler" (27YOMPB). 

The front page of the paper urged the fans at the Gabba to join their campaign against the "smug Pommy cheat" when England were in Australia for the reverse tour four months later.

The locals responded. He was jeered in the worst way possible and the chant directed at him was so obscene that Broad was relieved his mother was not present at the ground. 

But Broad's response was extraordinary. After an inspiring fast-bowling spell (5/65) where he got the better of frequent victims - Micheal Clarke and David Warner - Broad walked into the press conference room with a copy of the Courier Mail under his arm. 

A few minutes later he revealed, "Our psychologist did tests to see what kind of personalities we all are. There are three guys in this side who thrive properly on getting abuse - KP, [Kevin Pietersen] , myself and Matt Prior". By that time, the Courier Mail had realised they picked out the wrong man.

This incident tells us a lot about Stuart Broad. He is the bowler who got hammered for six sixes by Yuvraj Singh in the 2007 World T20 and missed as many as three run-out opportunities in a fateful final over to let the Netherlands upset England two years later. But he was not going to be worried about these failures. Greater things were waiting for him. Broad had what it took to bury the ghosts and roar back. 

Two months after that Netherlands nightmare, England regained the Ashes thanks to Broad's first breakthrough Ashes performance. He got five of Australia's top seven in the first innings to trigger an unlikely collapse that helped his side take a decisive lead and eventually win the match and the series. 

There is hardly any cricketer more box-office than him. Broad covering his face in disbelief after a Ben Stokes screamer at slip will forever remain one of the most iconic Ashes moments. That spell of 8/15 is one of the most destructive bowling spells in the history of Test cricket. The 6/17 in Johannesburg in 2016 in hostile conditions will also be up there. He has two Test hat-tricks. Only three others have multiple Test hat-tricks to their names. And Broad got them in a space of three years.

His batting saw a slump after he suffered a broken nose after being hit by a Varun Aaron bouncer. But his counter-attacking nature as a batter added a lot of value. In fact, according to CricViz as of July 2022, he is the batter with the highest attacking shot percentage since record began in 2006. He has a century as a tailender at the Lord's, something his father Chris, a former England opening batter and now match referee, couldn't achieve. 

He tried to emulate his father by being an opening batter and was even awarded the Leicestershire Young Batter of the Year award in 1996. As unbelievable as it gets, he seriously considered becoming a fast bowler when he was 17.

And along the way, he kept on learning and adding new weapons to his game. In the latter part of his career, he relied a lot on wobble seam. But in his penultimate innings as a Test bowler, he put on an exhibition of traditional upright seam bowling and got rid of two of Australia's key batters - Usman Khawaja and Travis Head - to crack the game wide open.

His mind game started way before the Ashes began when he claimed he had designed a revamped outswinger especially for Steven Smith and Marnus Labuschagne, who started the innings as the no. 1 ranked batter.

Broad got both Smith and Labuschagne (twice) in the Ashes opener itself. The latter avoided getting out to him for the rest of the series but Broad's bail-switching caused a lapse in his concentration and he nicked the ball the very next ball and was on his way. He is always in the game, even when he is not bowling. 

That Courier Mail paper, in 2013, termed Broad as "Stuart Fraud" because of his poor record away from home. At that time, he was averaging 38 overseas. But he has managed to improve that significantly. Since 2014, Broad averages 28.14 away from home and his away average now stands at 31.06. Except for Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, his bowling average is under 30 against each team he played against. 

Broad said he wanted his last job with the bat and ball to be in the Ashes, a contest that he loves. He is the only Englishman to have 150 Ashes wickets. 

The trait that defines Broad the best is his knack of bouncing back. He was dropped from the first West Indies Test when cricket resumed amid Covid. He did not hold back and vented his frustration. Drafted back into the side, he bagged a player-of-the-match award with a ten-fer in the decider, helping England come from behind and win the series 2-1.

After the completion of the reverse tour of the Caribbean in 2022, he along with James Anderson was dropped. Many thought it was the end of the road for the duo. It left Broad angry and frustrated. But Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum brought them back and Broad is going to retire as the most prolific bowler of the "Bazball" era. 

On current form, he could have played a few more Tests and at least go past Anil Kumble's tally of 619 wickets. But he didn't care for that milestone. Michael Vaughan, who presented him his Test cap, told Cricbuzz, "Broad epitomises everything about the England shirt". This England under Stokes and McCullum don't care about milestones and Broad stayed true to that philosophy. 

The man who was born 12 weeks prematurely, took up fast bowling seriously as late as when he was 17 announced his retirement probably too early, just when many thought he was finally going to be the lead man after Anderson's departure. 

But Broad will forever remain a key part of the Ashes folklore and be remembered for his devastating new ball spells, the epic celebrappeals, the headband, the mind games and as the "Phantom Menace" who, 10 years after refusing to walk in Nottingham, walked away from the game when he was in top form.