Stuart Broad, the veteran England fast bowler, has shared his view that the 4-0 loss England suffered in the 2021-22 Ashes in Australia should not be considered a real series due to the lack of “high-level performance” and passion from the players caused by Covid-19 restrictions.
Broad was quoted in the Daily Mail as saying, “Nothing about that series was high-level performance because of the Covid restrictions.” He played in three Tests on the tour and took 13 wickets.
Broad expressed his excitement for the upcoming Ashes series starting on June 16, especially as England are currently revolutionising Test cricket under Brendon McCullum, the former New Zealand captain who is now their head coach. Broad emphasised that the team’s goal was to entertain and put on a show, with winning a superb bonus.
“I think I’m even more excited than in my first Ashes,” said Broad. “In 2009, I was apprehensive and very nervous. It was all very tiring because I was into it so much but I’m chilled now. I love it. I’m addicted to it and I’m addicted to the way we’re playing.
“When you take the result out of the equation, it takes pressure away, so really if our only goal is to entertain I can do that. It’s my natural way of playing now, and I will happily do something that’s fun to watch or even silly to watch, like being the ‘NightHawk’.
“We can entertain as a team, and if we win along the way, superb. But the one thing we will do is enjoy it and put on a show.”
Broad has the opportunity to become the second English player to get to the 600-wicket mark in Tests, if he takes 24 scalps in the upcoming Ashes, but he claimed he wasn’t thinking about that, or the possibility of being dropped or rotated.
“I don’t think about 600 wickets,” he said. “It doesn’t bother me at all. Only because I got to that stage last year when I was so disappointed to be left out, I thought I’d never take another wicket. So everything is a great bonus for me now.
“I used to see it as winning series all the time, but Baz [McCullum] has said ‘winning one Test is an unbelievable feat so enjoy that moment’. And he’s so right. In England we can get so hung up on what’s coming but it’s all about what’s happening now.”