Stuart Broad driven by his ambition to surpass Ian Botham's total of five Ashes series victories
Equalling the England great’s mark of five Ashes series victories remains Broad’s burning ambition over the coming months
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Your support makes all the difference.He may only be four adrift of Ian Botham’s tally of 383 Test wickets, but equalling the England great’s mark of five Ashes series victories remains Stuart Broad’s burning ambition over the coming months.
Broad, on 379 wickets ahead of the series opener against the West Indies at Edgbaston, is tantalisingly close to becoming his country’s second-most prolific bowler in Test history behind only team-mate, good friend and new-ball partner James Anderson.
Given the match that starts in Birmingham on Thursday is the first day-night Test in the UK, with the pink ball expected to hoop around corners against vulnerable opposition, Broad is likely to overtake Botham before the weekend is out.
However, it is the challenge that lies in wait this winter in Australia, that is dominating Broad’s thoughts.
Like Botham, Broad saves his best for Ashes encounters and it is the all-rounder’s heroics against Australia that not only inspired him to take up cricket but still drive him.
“Obviously he’s the biggest player English cricket has ever had, and anyone who’s done what he has against Australia I’ve got a lot of respect for,” Broad said at an event for Test-match sponsors Investec. “He’s been an inspiration to me in how to take on Australia. I grew up in our era from ’86-’87 to 2005 when it was horrible watching the Ashes. That was an influence on me because it made me very determined that if ever I got the chance to play against them we’d have to win.
“So Beefy’s been a big influence not just with my bowling but also his mentality on the importance of Ashes series.”
Broad’s four Ashes wins include home successes in 2009, 2013 and 2015, when his decisive spells at The Oval, Durham and Trent Bridge respectively proved series-clinching moments for England.
Yet his other Ashes victory in the winter of 2010-11 was to prove his most painful, the fast bowler playing the first two matches but then sitting back at home with a torn abdominal muscle as his team-mates won back-to-back Tests at Melbourne and Sydney to seal their first series victory in Australia for 24 years.
This winter, he is determined to be in the thick of the action, just as he was in 2013-14 when he took 21 wickets despite his team’s 5-0 whitewash. But this time Broad believes England can win.
“It’s a massive winter,” he said. “This England side is a really exciting team to play in and we’ve got players who can do really special things.
“You look at Australia and I think both teams look similar. Both have got experienced players who can perform relatively consistently and players who do unbelievably world-class things one day and, with a bit of inexperience, make mistakes the next. I think this will be up there with the most fascinating Ashes series of recent times and that’s exciting.
“This isn’t disrespecting this series because we’re talking about West Indies and it’s hugely important. But we want to go to Australia with a consistent team because if we get the consistency right we’ve got the flair to blow any team away. It’s pretty exciting time to be involved in this team actually.”
Broad’s new-ball partnership with Anderson, who has 487 Test wickets after overtaking Botham two years ago, is likely to be key to any success England have this winter.
The pair have taken 720 wickets in the 94 Tests they have played alongside each other. Despite turning 35 last month, Anderson is showing no signs of slowing up given his haul of 20 wickets at 14.10 in the recent 3-1 series win against South Africa.
So, is reaching the combined total of 1,000 Test wickets achievable?
“It would be nice, wouldn’t it?” says Broad. “It’d be pretty special, but we’d have to see how long the old bloke wants to go on for.
“I know he’s got a huge hunger for cricket, and I certainly want him to carry on for as long as possible.
“You don't get many bowlers playing until 37 or 38 these days at the top level, do you? “But he is a bit of a freak in that way, in the fact that he’s incredibly fit, and he’s bowled that much with his action that he knows it.
“The Ashes this winter means so much to me personally and I don't want to look too much further beyond that, but you know if we start with him at the Gabba we’ve certainly got a better chance in Australia.”
As for the upcoming match at Edgbaston, Broad thinks the fact the West Indies played a pink-ball Test against Pakistan last winter and a recent day-night tour game at Derbyshire gives them an edge.
“I promise you, we are stepping into the unknown,” said Broad. “I just don’t know what to expect. They played in Dubai with it last year so you could almost say they have an advantage over us having played a pink-ball game this week going into the first Test.”
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