England vs India second Test: England players staying in 'haunted hotel', claims Stuart Broad, but does that explain their terrible nine-match winless streak?
Fast-bowler reveals he had to swap rooms at London's Langham Hotel because the taps turned on automatically and a 'presence' was with him in the room
![Stuart Broad reacts during India's second innings at Lord's](https://static.independent.co.uk/s3fs-public/thumbnails/image/2014/07/21/10/Stuart-Broad.jpg)
Support truly
independent journalism
Our mission is to deliver unbiased, fact-based reporting that holds power to account and exposes the truth.
Whether $5 or $50, every contribution counts.
Support us to deliver journalism without an agenda.
![Louise Thomas](https://static.independent.co.uk/static-assets/support-us/louise-thomas.png)
Louise Thomas
Editor
England have appeared haunted since their 5-0 Ashes mauling Down Under as they look set to continue their nine-match winless Test streak, but it appears that’s exactly what they are.
England face the mammoth task of chasing down 319 on the final day of the second Test against India, with Joe Root and Moeen Ali set to take to the crease today on 105-4 in a bid to take an unlikely 1-0 lead.
But the current squad, many of whom have cut a shadow of their former world-dominating selves, have revealed that they have suffered many a sleepless night at their five-star hotel because it is “haunted” – yes, haunted by ghosts.
Fast bowler Stuart Broad, who along with captain Alastair Cook has been one of the biggest disappointments of the summer, revealed that he moved rooms at the Langham Hotel in Marylebone because he was “convinced” there were ghosts in the same room that he was sleeping in.
“One night I woke up in the middle of the night, around 1.30am and I was convinced there was a presence in the room,” Broad said in an interview with the Mail on Sunday.
“It was the weirdest feeling. All of a sudden the taps in the bathroom came on for no reason. I turned the lights on and the taps turned themselves off.
“Then when I turned the lights off again the taps came on. It really freaked me out. I ended up asking to move rooms.”
The fast-bowler is not the only one to have experienced the spooky goings-on at the London hotel. All-rounder Ben Stokes, another who is struggling to find any form with the bat following a string of single digit scores, is also reported to have had difficulties sleeping, while some of the players’ girlfriends refused to stay at the Langham Hotel.
The website of the 149-year-old hotel also has a story about its reputation of being haunted, with seven ghosts believed to roam the hallways of the “most haunted hotel in England”.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments