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Former selector probably didn't rate me: Broad

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Last updated on 18 May 2021 | 01:36 AM
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Former selector probably didn't rate me: Broad

The 34-year-old seamer feels he is now in "the sexy phase" of his career

Stuart Broad said that he was looking forward to life under a new England regime given former national selector Ed Smith "probably didn't rate me". He has also warned against Test caps being given out "free and cheap" as a result of England's controversial rest and rotation policy.  

Broad, now a Test specialist, accepted multi-format England players such as the currently injured Jofra Archer would need careful handling if they were to be fit for both this year's Twenty20 World Cup and the subsequent Ashes series in Australia.

Smith's post was abolished last month, with England coach Chris Silverwood now in sole charge of selecting the side. Broad's tally of 517 Test wickets is second only to that of longstanding new-ball colleague James Anderson among England bowlers, yet he was still left out for last season's opening match against the West Indies.

It was a move that left the 34-year-old Nottinghamshire seamer feeling "frustrated, angry and gutted", although Broad responded by becoming England's leading bowler of the 2020 Test campaign, with 29 wickets at a stunning average of 13.41.

"Last year I was disgruntled because the selectors had said the first Test team of the summer will be our best team. For someone who had been through the Ashes successfully, been through South Africa successfully and stayed fit, I felt it was my shirt. I felt I was in the best team. So to be told I suddenly wasn't in the best team with my record in England, that's what upset me. Is it realistic I'm going to play every Test? No. But if the communication is done well then you understand the reasons for it," said Broad, talking at an event organised by soap and hand cleanser manufacturers Lifebuoy.

"You can say Smith's period as National Selector) was a success in the sense that the team won games and a World Cup. And he brought some fine players through. But from my point of view we struggled a bit on the communication side and probably saw the game of cricket slightly differently. A lot of people have bosses who don't rate them as much as other people and I think he was mine. He probably didn't rate me as much as other players. That's fine but I kept trying to prove some selection decisions wrong.

"I really disagreed with getting left out in Barbados [at the start of 2019]. It's one of the best places to bowl as a tall fast bowler. And there are a few occasions where I have felt a bit disgruntled and didn't have the clarity of communication that I would have liked. That Test I missed at the Ageas Bowl is the only English Test I've missed in what, 10 years? And that was through selection.

"I am very open to being told things. You have a discussion face to face and then have a beer and move on. That's how I like to do things. Maybe Ed and I didn't have that sort of relationship. But he did a lot for bringing through some young cricketers and giving them exposure to the international scene. But he didn't rate me overly highly and I just had to keep proving that view wrong," said Broad of his relationship with Smith.

The 34-year-old seamer feels he is now in "the sexy phase" of his career. "In Ryan Giggs' last few years at Manchester United he wouldn't play every game but he'd have a big impact at certain times. I'm sure it was made very clear what his role was in the side. If that means that Jimmy Anderson and I get rested at certain times then that's much easier to take. I still want to be around to help and guide bowlers through the Test match. We're all part of a unit wanting to get the team better and better. But if I had a choice I'd want to play all seven.

"It's nice to be able to share my experience. Peter Moores calls it the sexy stage of your career: you know what you're doing, you don't have too many bad days because if you bowl a bad ball you know why you've bowled a bad ball. You're also sharing all your information on how to be competitive, how to grab momentum, how to take a stride forward in a game.

"I look at Jimmy aged 38. Three years ago I'd have thought no chance I'd get anywhere near that. Now I can sit here and think why not play and enjoy it? The ECB have looked after Jimmy really well in the last few years. Whenever he's had a niggle or an injury they've rehabbed him back and given him the chance to play more cricket. Why wouldn't I want the same opportunity? Keep enjoying it, keep learning and keep winning games for Notts and England."

England's rotation policy has been designed to ensure players don't get burn out as a result of both a congested schedule and the extra demands of playing bio-secure cricket amid the coronavirus pandemic. Broad, regretting what he felt was a lack of communication from Smith, said he would accept being rested by Silverwood if "it was explained in a good way".

Nevertheless, he insisted: "Part of the reason I don't play white-ball cricket anymore is so I'm fit and available for Test cricket and fresh when I'm needed. Test caps aren't there to be given out free and cheap. We work very hard for the opportunity to play Test cricket and you have to earn your stripes."

The past year has witnessed several occasions where England have left one of Broad or Anderson out from their Test side when both bowlers have been fit, a move team management justified by the need to maintain the duo's fitness and give other bowlers experience of taking the new ball.

Broad, speaking at an event organised by England sponsor Lifebuoy soap, made it clear he was ready to be an ever-present in this season's seven Tests at home to New Zealand (two) and India (five).

"I don't think many could argue against Jimmy (Anderson) and I being in the best bowling attack in England, but if you need to get experience and overs into bowlers that is what it is," he said.

Fast bowler Archer, a hero of England's 2019 50-over World Cup triumph, has been ruled out of next month's series with New Zealand as a result of persistent elbow injury that could required surgery.

"I'm sure the ECB (England and Wales Cricket Board) will be thinking long and hard of what the next step is, but it's probably a little bit more intensive than rest and recoup now isn't it?," said Broad.

"Obviously the New Zealand and India series are huge for us but if I was looking at Jofra Archer I'd want him bowling my last over in the T20 World Cup and I'd want him playing at Brisbane (the expected venue for the first Ashes Test)."

"Without being disrespectful to any other type of international cricket, you do have to get him right for the games you want him right for."

* With inputs from AFP

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