The tall, blonde, 'not so broad' pretty boy and his tryst with Test Cricket

Lean, lanky, blonde, and boyishly good looking – this is how Stuart Broad caught my attention.

“30 (off the over) and 1 ball to go. Can he make it six out of six? Last ball of the innings (Shastri probably got that wrong in all the excitement). And he’s put that away…or has he? YES, into the crowd! Six sixes in the over.”

This is probably how Stuart Broad caught the world’s attention – being slammed for six sixes in an over by Yuvraj Singh at the T20 World Cup in 2007. After the humiliation, what could have been endgame for Broad, seems to have helped him come back even stronger. His place in England’s long term plans was confirmed after he was named one of England’s three captains (captain of the T20 side) alongside Andrew Strauss and Alistair Cook.

Staunch cricket enthusiasts are seldom impressed by ODI performances and even less so by T20 heroics. Test match performances are considered to be of paramount importance, and Broad has had quite a remarkable test career so far. It all began with the Ashes in 2009, as the series lay in balance and the teams went to the Oval meaning to force a favorable result. Broad claimed 5 for 37 in 12 overs, four of those coming in a period of 21 balls where he conceded only 8. It ensured that there was no coming back for Australia, England bagged the match and the series 2-1.

After a sudden slump in form during the series against Sri Lanka in early 2011, there was a lot of speculation about Broad’s place in the side for the upcoming series against India, the then number one side in Tests. Eventually, he did manage to make the cut. What ensued was a fairy tale, tailor-made for Broad.

During the first match at Lords, he ended with match figures of 7-94. He followed that up by scoring an unbeaten 74 in the 2nd innings as England went on to register a comprehensive 196 run victory over India.

During the second game at his home ground in Nottingham, Broad claimed his first hat-trick (which was also the only hat-trick against India in Tests) as Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Harbhajan Singh and Praveen Kumar fell to successive deliveries. Two more decent matches followed and Broad was named Man of the Series.

A year later, during the summer of 2012, Broad started with 7-72 against West Indies at Lord’s. After bagging 4 wickets in the 2nd innings, he went on to get his best Test figures of 11-165 and joined the elite club of bowlers with 10-wicket-hauls at the historic venue. This was also the first 10-wicket-haul at the ground since the legendary Ian Botham’s 11-140 in 1978.

His sudden emergence from the shadows could be attributed to the variety that he has brought into his bowling. He has gone from being the boy who played sage, bowled at good lengths with a decent economy rate to a man who varies his pace, line and length to good effect and bowls the odd bouncer – all with a handsome strike rate. He has become a wicket-taker.

The answers to whether he’ll fill Andrew Flintoff’s large boots or whether he’s going to live up to the expectations of his ‘all-rounder’ tag all lie in the future. A few years ago, when England were playing India at home during the Natwest Series, Broad got into an altercation with Sourav Ganguly; I distinctly remember him waving his arms, shrugging his shoulders and backing off as Ganguly started to retaliate. I even remember one of the commentators saying, “Broad would’ve been in his diapers when Ganguly began to play his cricket.”

For now, whether Broad was in his diapers or not when the opponent begun playing his cricket, he has no reason to back off.