Stuart Broad: Body Line
We styled the man who Yuvraj hit for six sixes and the man we hope will demolish Australia this November – Stuart Broad.
Friday, August 21, 2009. It’s been 959 painful days since England relinquished the cherished Ashes urn to Australia in a demoralising whitewash Down Under. Some 23,000 fans are crammed into The Brit Oval, millions more are on the edge of seats and barstools, captivated by unadulterated televised tension. The series is locked at 1-1. England have notched up 332 in their first innings, and Australia are calmly going about building a steady reply in a rain-delayed afternoon session. The clock ticks round to 2.40pm. Enter Westlife -meets-Baywatch poster boy Stuart Broad. Within 37 captivating minutes, with an astonishing display of fast bowling he’s ripped the heart out of the Aussies, demolishing wickets and bails like a fat man tucking into a bowl of Chicken Tikka Masala. Beer is spilt, there’s random hugging of strangers, the Ashes are coming home. Broad ends up with figures of 5 for 37, the Man of the Match award – and legendary status in the heart of every cricket-loving Englishman.
“Those moments stick with you for the rest of your life,” the unassuming 6ft 5in wicket-taking hitman tells FHM. “The memories from the Oval that day and that whole test match… the crowd were all on their feet… the buzz around the place was magical. It gives us confidence going over to Australia this winter (The Ashes Test series starts on Nov 25).” But life hasn’t been all willow and wickets for Broad since that fateful summer’s day. His batting endured an almost year-long Ashes hangover during which he failed to score above 30 runs, a drought that was ended in spectacular fashion during the final test against Pakistan in August when he smashed 169 in a record-breaking eighth-wicket stand with Jonathan Trott. He’s struggled with the ball at times too, seeing his Test bowling average rise to 35 – far from reassuring from a man expected to spearhead England’s attack down under.
Renowned for his determination and fiery temper, frustration got the better of 24-year-old Broady against Pakistan – he was fined half of his match fee for throwing the ball at Zulqarnain Haider and warned that another transgression would land him a one-Test ban. Despite those troubles, or perhaps because of them, there’s a palpable fire in his eyes at the mention of the forthcoming Ashes defence.
“We want to create a legacy. We want to be a team that wins not just one Ashes series or one World Cup. We want to be a team that in 20 years time English people will look back and go, ‘Remember that team? They were fantastic. Brilliant to watch. Remember that day? Remember that game?’ That’s what we’re pushing towards.”
This will be the first time you’ve played the Aussies in Australia. What are you most looking forward to?
The battle of it. When you tour there you’re not just playing against the Australian cricket team, you’re playing against the whole country. But, at the end of the day, it all comes down to who presents their skills better under pressure.
Anything you’re dreading?
No. You’re going to beautiful cities, amazing coastlines, great weather – I’m really excited. The crowds will be pretty feisty – on Boxing Day we’ll be playing in front of 100,000 – you’re going to get abuse but that’s part and parcel of the tour.
It’s a long time away from home…
Well, your mates back home are in sleet and snow. The key is surrounding yourself with home comforts, like teabags. I always take them to remind me of home. Communication is so good these days with Skype and all that stuff that it makes being away a lot easier.
What are opposing fans like?
You do get a bit of stick. The worst was Freshers’ Week in Christchurch, New Zealand. Each student got a free ticket and I was fielding right in front of the stand holding 20,000 of them. Halfway through the day, they’re a bit lashed up, a ball got edged down to me, I ran in to pick it up and it went straight between my legs for four – I didn’t even lay a mitt on it. The whole crowd erupted; it was the only time I’ve had 20,000 people singing “Broady is a wanker”.
Who’s the biggest joker in the side?
Our masseur, Mark Saxby. When he gets bored he gets up to mischief. A few weeks ago he superglued everyone’s shoes to the floor. There was a stray BlackBerry in the medical room so he superglued that, too, only to then realise it was his. Everyone has the same phone and he’d stuck his own to the table. He tried to use it as an alibi: “Why would I superglue my own phone? It wasn’t me! It wasn’t me!”
Graeme Swann told us that Lord’s is the best ground for grub…
It is, without a doubt. You want your batsman to bat for five days so you can just eat. It’s not ideal – you end up needing an afternoon snooze as you’re so full. They do this thing called the ‘Louisiana Lovebite’ that’s just chocolate mixed in with, well, chocolate and more chocolate, and built into a kind of cheesecake. When you walk in, you’re like, “I’m gonna have five of them,” and then halfway through one you’re struggling. They’re sublime.
What’s been the highlight of your career?
Winning the Ashes last year. We had some really tight games. From a personal point of view, taking the last five wickets in the final test; we had to win and we were under a bit of pressure, so that was pleasing. There’s about five or six of us in the current side who’ve played Australia once and beaten them once – we’ve got no fear going to Australia.
Photography: Leo Cackett; fashion: Jessica Punter
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