Former England captain Nasser Hussain applauded veteran pacer Stuart Broad for his brilliant spell on Day 4 of the first Ashes 2023 Test against Australia at Edgbaston on Monday, June 19. Lauding the veteran, he named Broad as someone who is going to give it everything until he announces his retirement. However, he gave the hosts the upper hand in the Edgbaston Test by dismissing Marnus Labuschagne (13) and Steven Smith (6) in the last session of play on Day 4 as well.
Writing in his column for The Daily Mail, Hussain stated: “He is one who can say that he always gave it his absolute everything. Broad was on his knees with two balls to go in that spell, he had been sprinting back to the end of his mark to beat the clock and bowl one more over, and that for me is all you can ever ask of an England cricketer. With him, he strains every sinew, gives every ounce of effort and he’s just going to give it everything until he hangs up his boots. His sense of theatre, his sense of occasion, his sense of when to lift his game, and his sense of how to get great players out is second to none.”
Sharing his thoughts on Stuart Broad’s dismissals of Labuschagne and Steve Smith, Hussain added that the game was drifting away from England when Ben Stokes brought him back into the attack, and he responded to the moment.
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“You can see Broad cares about this, his ninth and possibly last Ashes series, as much if not more than his previous eight and his record against Australia is what he will be remembered for. Even at 36, he went away and worked behind the scenes to perfect the outswinger that did for Labuschagne and Smith in this fourth innings. And if you want to know how much Broad puts his body through, you should have seen his feet after the first innings. Shoeless, he walked towards me, his whole foot strapped, toenail falling off, blood seeping out of the bandages,” he further wrote.
However, Stuart Broad registered figures of 2/28 from nine overs on Day 4 to give England a good start as well. However, looking ahead to the final day of the Test, Hussain added that off-spinner Moeen Ali still has a big role to play as Australia have a few left-handers left in the squad as well.
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“They’ve still got a couple of left-handers to come in Travis Head and Alex Carey, and the way he troubled Cameron Green in the first innings – he should gave had him stumped second ball and bowled him through the gate – means this is still in the balance. He was clearly struggling with that wounded spinning finger in the evening session, as shown by the fact he was forced off the field after sending down a full toss and two drag downs in his sixth over. But England will need him and the rest of their attack to build on the inroads Broad made in the style only he can,” Nasser Hussain concluded.
