Stuart Broad could well finish his career as England’s leading wicket-taker, but his record in India is one that he’ll be eager to improve in the coming weeks

George Dobell in Rajkot07-Nov-20163:12

‘We are massive underdogs’ – Broad

It says much for the unrelenting nature of modern international cricket that, just as Stuart Broad reaches a milestone deserving of reflection and reward, he also embarks on a daunting new challenge.Success in India is one of the few holes in Broad’s record that will, from Wednesday, include 100 Test caps. Yes, he was a member of the squad that won here in 2012 but he didn’t take a wicket in the series and was hampered by injury throughout. He has bowled well in the UAE, Australia (he was England’s best bowler in the 2013-14 Ashes), South Africa and, of course, England. But if he has anything to prove to anyone anywhere, it is surely in India.We have, perhaps, become somewhat inured to these 100-cap milestones. There have been so many of late with Broad following James Anderson, Alastair Cook, Kevin Pietersen and Ian Bell to the landmark from the England team that made it to No. 1 in the Test rankings.Broad on …

His 100th cap: “I’m aware how special an achievement it is because of the players that have come before me and the amount they’ve given to English cricket. It will be a special cap to receive. There’s not many of those Test caps with the little 100 below the Three Lions.”
On this series: “There’s no bigger occasion than the start of a series in India against the world No.1 team. We know how vital it is to start well.”
DRS:”It will play quite a big part in this series. We probably didn’t utilise it as well as well could have done in Bangladesh. In Dhaka we didn’t review a few that could have been out. We’re looking for the keeper and bowler to have quite strong opinions on it.”

But Cook tells an interesting story from the Barbados Test of 2015. Realising his Test career was over, Jonathan Trott asked to speak to the team at the end of the game. He had, he said, come to understand that the England cap was “the best thing you’ll ever wear”. The gap between his 49th and 50th caps – Brisbane 2013 to Antigua 2015 in his case – had been life-changing and had brought home to him the value of each and every one. It had reminded him how hard they were to earn, how some were soaked in champagne, others in tears and all of them in sweat. It had taught him that every one is precious and represented a terrific achievement. To have earned 100 can only be the reflection of an outstanding career.Broad becomes the 14th England player to reach the milestone but just the third seamer. Only Ian Botham and James Anderson have taken more Test wickets for England. The averages, strike-rates and economy-rates of all three are almost identical.And Broad is ‘only’ 30. He aims, he says, to play in “at least two more Ashes series” – an aspiration that would take him up to the end of the 2019 English season – and retains hopes of regaining a place in the ODI side. He may well finish as England’s leading Test wicket-taker.His importance to England has rarely been greater. In the absence of Anderson, he is required to lead the attack in Rajkot which will involve not just striking with the new ball, but gaining reverse with the old. His use of cutters has improved immensely over recent years – not least the one that saw Asad Shafiq slice to point in the most recent Old Trafford Test – and he has, he says, benefited from a couple of weeks in the nets of late to rediscover his outswinger.The last time Broad played in a Test series here he was replaced by Steven Finn after the first two Tests. At the time, the tour management let it be known they were not overwhelmed with Broad’s efforts but, subsequently, it transpired he had lacerated the fat pad in his left heel ahead of the first Test. “I probably shouldn’t have played that series,” he says now. “I wasn’t fit.”Perhaps that is an instructive episode. For Broad, like other highly-talented players before him, has the ability when at his best to make cricket look easy. With his height and frame, he sometimes looks as if he was born to bowl. And, like David Gower or Chris Lewis, the downside of such obvious natural talent is that, when he is not at his best, he can look as if he is not trying quite as hard as he might be.Stuart Broad has much to prove in India, but impressed in his 99th Test in Bangladesh•Getty ImagesIt’s an impression that is largely corrected when you see him at close quarters. When you see the toenails ripped off by the pounding of his feet in delivery, when you see him diving full length to stop balls in the field, when you hear stories of the quiet encouragement he has given to other players who have been struggling, you come to the conclusion that he is utterly committed to the welfare of the team but that, at times, his body or his rhythm or his technique don’t allow him to produce his best form. There’s no lack of effort.Has he achieved absolutely every target we had for him? Certainly the batting, that once shone with so much promise, has fallen away to the stage where hopes that he can ever be considered a true allrounder have long since been abandoned. And, at times, he has struggled to maintain the pace or away movement that characterise his bowling at its best. The years of operating in a four-man attack – alongside Anderson he was the most-bowled seamer in international cricket for several years – probably took their toll.He has certainly produced great spells. Seven times he has taken five wickets in a spell and several of them (The Oval, Trent Bridge, Durham and The Wanderers) have helped wrap up big series.He picks out two as his own favourites: the 8 for 15 against Australia on his home ground of Trent Bridge in 2015 – “it’s two-and-a-half days I’ll remember with huge fondness,” he says – and the 6 for 17 at The Wanderers in early 2016. “That stands out,” he says, “in such a tough and aggressive atmosphere to play in.”Anderson, writing in a Daily Mail column, suggested he had seen him bowl even better. He highlighted the 7 for 44 against New Zealand at Lord’s in 2013 – “it was a brutal spell,” Anderson said, “he looked threatening every ball” – and the 5 for 37 on a flat wicket at The Oval in 2009 as Broad’s best. The fact that there are so many to choose from rather underlines Broad’s value.We are unlikely to see such spells on this tour. The Rajkot pitch, while not as dry as those seen in Bangladesh, is already cracked and the relatively lush outfield – there are no recently used pitches on the square – will do nothing to help bowlers find reverse swing.While a couple of England batsmen poured water across concrete wickets before practising – a technique they use to replicate the ball skidding on – in case the seamers play more of a role than anticipated, it remains likely that Broad and co. will generally be used in a holding role. To that end, he will have to bowl many tight overs in hot conditions with little prospect of great reward. Broad, once the poster boy of English cricket, now has the most unglamorous job of all.Broad himself referred to it as “without a doubt” the biggest challenge of his career.”We are coming as massive underdogs, there’s no doubt about that,” he said. “Obviously India have got to No.1 in the world and played some brilliant cricket here so we’re very aware this is a huge challenge. This is a tough place to come and play.”We’ll have to learn very quickly. It was quite a tough experience, losing ten wickets in that one session in Dhaka, and actually, confidence is a tricky one to know because we’ve not had any warm-up games here to test out in the middle.”But also we’ve got nothing to fear, because not many of our side have actually played cricket over here.”This is a chance to show what I can do. I think I only bowled 25 overs in the series the last time we were here. It was a frustrating period for me, but I feel in a pretty good place at the moment. I feel I’ve been a bit more consistent in the English summer without taking a big haul. I’ve felt really good in the nets and I’m excited to get going.”If Broad successfully pulls off his role in this series, it will represent an impressive maturation. Gone are the days when he thought of himself as the side’s “enforcer”; gone are the days when he would go missing for a couple of games (since May 2013, he has a Test bowling average of 24.93; Anderson’s is 24.07 over the same period); gone are the days when he strutted and sulked his way through spells in trying conditions.As his pace has diminished, his need for control and skill has increased and he has developed into an intelligent, skillful bowler whom his captain can rely upon not just to be the star, but to get his hands dirty and do the supporting work. His has been an excellent career and there are several more chapters in his story to be told.