India v England: Stuart Broad says selectors' patience helped him to 100 Test caps
Last updated on .From the section Cricket
| India v England: First Test |
|---|
| Venue: Rajkot Date: 9-13 November Time: 04:00 GMT |
| Coverage: Live Test Match Special commentary on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra & BBC Sport website, tablets, mobiles and app. Plus live text coverage on BBC Sport website |
Stuart Broad is set to win his 100th Test cap when England face India this week, but says he would not have been so fortunate bowling in a bygone era.
Broad, 30, who made his Test debut against Sri Lanka in 2007, credits the selectors, who he believes are more patient than in the 1970s or 80s.
He says things were different when his dad Chris made his Test debut in 1984.
"I feel very fortunate I've played in an era where selectors have looked after players," Broad told BBC Sport.
"They almost pick characters and techniques that they feel will succeed at international cricket."
- Who is England's best ever captain? Rank your top five here.
Broad struggled on his debut against Sri Lanka in Colombo, conceding 95 runs for one wicket, but has since gone on to take 360 Test wickets at an average of 28.48.
"There's no doubt if I was a bowler in the 70s or 80s there's a huge chance I'd have played two or three Test matches," he said.
Broad, like his father, was predominantly a batsman until the age of 17, when he says he "grew a foot in a year" and within two and a half years was bowling for England.
"It was quite a quick rise and I did a lot of my learning playing international cricket, which is quite a tough thing to do," added the Nottinghamshire right-armer.
"My first 15 to 20 Tests I was almost fourth seamer with Freddie Flintoff in the side, thrown the ball when nothing was happening - trying to make something happen.
"When you become more experienced in the team you get given the responsibility to bowl at the better times, bowl with the new ball, and that makes a big difference."
'I wouldn't be here without Jimmy'
Broad praised the role of England's leading Test wicket-taker James Anderson, 34, in his own rise to the top.
Anderson, who has taken 463 wickets since making his Test debut in 2003, is set to join the squad before the first Test in Rajkot following a shoulder injury.
"There is no way I would be sat here without Jimmy Anderson, because every bowler needs a partner that you feed off," said Broad.
"The amount I have learned from him. The amount of spells I've taken wickets that I've owed to him, where he has created pressure at the other end.
"There is no doubt the partnership has gone from strength to strength in the past five years and he has become a friend for life as well.
"I owe a huge amount to Jimmy and hopefully I have got a few more years learning off him. We have always talked and tried to learn off each other, but we have never had that competiveness against each other."
Broad will be "extremely proud" to win his 100th cap but is keen to play down his own achievements this week, instead focusing on the first Test against India.
"It's going to be an exciting week," he added. "It's a huge game. We all know how important it is to start well in India.
"I'm only 30 and it's another game really. I've got a lot of things to achieve. I want to play for a lot more Test matches."
| India v England Test schedule |
|---|
| 9-13 Nov: First Test, Rajkot |
| 17-21 Nov: Second Test, Visakhapatnam |
| 26-30 Nov: Third Test, Mohali |
| 8-12 Dec: Fourth Test, Mumbai |
| 16-20 Dec: Fifth Test, Chennai |
Comments
Join the conversation
There are few better sights in Test cricket than when Broady gets on a roll. Never forget his 8-15 against the Aussies.
And let's not underestimate how hard it is for fast bowlers to stay injury-free and perform at world-class level for a decade.
England are so fortunate to have him and Jimmy in the same era.
Congrats to him.
I wouldn't say he's an all time great but a top bowler for a long time who probably would've walked into any test team of the day. Anderson and Broad is certainly one of the great opening partnerships.
Pity that a national sport is hardly watched and a generation of supporters and potential players will miss such an amazing achievement.
To me though, his batting is even more frustrating as i believe he could have been a genuine allrounder if he applied himself more with the bat, The Great Geoffrey Boycott has said several times that some of his strokes are reminiscent of Gary Sobers!
- I'd like to see a real quick man in the test squad.
======
So would I but we dont have a real quick bowler in the english game, so we will just have to wait for one.
It's not just inner cities, here in the west Country the Ecb has poured huge sums of money into local clubs lifting standards in all areas as well as encouraging girls, blind and disabled cricket. Some clubs I played against in the nineties are now fielding 4 teams on a Saturday.
I'll say it until the cows come home, the BBC did nothing for cricket.