As English cricket was at its lowest point, Brendon McCullum changed the game with a new way to play. Stuart Broad opens up on what he called possibly the best year of his life.
Stuart Broad has claimed England’s breathtaking Bazball has delivered the greatest year of his sporting life – even if it made him nearly choke on his chocolate biscuit.
At his home ground no less.
In a soon to be released interview with Mark Howard’s Howie Games podcast, champion fast bowler Broad pulls back the curtain surrounding the Bazball mystique to offer rare anecdotal insight into the cavalier English mindset which will confront Australia in the Ashes opener at Edgbaston on Friday.
After winning just one of their previous 17 Tests, England have won 11 of 13 since captain Ben Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum took over and introduced a fan-friendly, cavalier, failure-is-fine attitude that has unleashed the team’s inner beast.
“It is quite an exciting time for me to talk about cricket because I am 36 and arguably had the best year of my life,’’ Broad told Fox Cricket’s Howard.
“I don’t know how many professionals can say that they are approaching each day with such joy at the back end of their career.
“Baz and Stokesy are a huge part of that because of the way they want us to play our cricket. For me to train and play with no consequences and play it like league cricket. That is exactly how I would like to play at the end of my career.’‘
DON’T MENTION THE RESULT
Winning and losing are the brutal bottom line in sport but those words have vanished in the English dressing room.
“I have not heard them talk about the result once in the entire year. Never is it ‘we could have won that game’ or ‘we need to win this game’.
“The result does not matter. It is all about being entertaining and the process. Without question the first role of our group is about entertaining the people who have bought a ticket or are listening on the radio or watching on the telly.
“It was about ridding the fear of failure which is so hard to do in professional sport because it is there at all times. They have done it.’’
GO HARD OR GO HOME
Broad said Bazball has taken him to some quirky place including one Test against New Zealand at his home ground Trent Bridge last year when the Kiwis made 553 and England were cruising with Ollie Pope and Joe Root on the way to massive centuries.
But it was not enough for McCullum who approached Broad upstairs.
Broad, relishing the fact he could relax down the order, had just started to sip a coffee and munch on a chocolate biscuit when McCullum said “do you want to get your pads on?’’
“I said: ‘What? Ahead of Bairstow and Stokes … why?’
“He said, ‘Well, it’s your home ground, they are batting beautifully, but the crowd is a bit subdued and I thought if you go in and hit your first ball for four there will be a massive roar. Then you could have a massive hack at your second ball and if you get out we will have still got the crowd going again’.
“I am like, ‘OK, can do’. So I padded up with the only aim to hit my first ball for four and after that it didn’t matter. Fortunately they kept batting and it did not happen but the mindset was if you could give someone a cheer for a few seconds you have done your role for the team that day. It means turning up each day is so free because I can hit one boundary and have a good day instead of having to get 50.’’
THE BOWLERS
Batsman have dominated Bazball headlines but the change to bowling mindsets has been staggering with an emphasis on taking wickets … at any cost.
Broad, 36, and the extraordinary Jimmy Anderson, 40, have had great years but they have had to change from being run misers to occasionally bowling like millionaires.
“Jimmy and I have a combined age of 76. We are quite ingrained in what we do. I listened to an interview with Scott Boland yesterday and he was talking about his job is (to keep down the) economy rate.
“To be honest Jimmy and I have had that mindset for the majority of our career but what Stokesy wants from us is to forget about economy rate. He doesn’t care about boundaries.
“They don’t matter. His theory is whatever boundaries the opposition hit we will hit more. It’s about wickets all the time. So 10 overs 3-75 is more valuable to him because it is speeding the game up than 10 overs 0-12.
“If I get hit for four though mid-wicket after bowling a leg stump half volley instead of thinking I will put deep square back to cover it I will get a short leg in because I should not be bowling that ball. Hit the pitch harder and nip the ball back.
“Say ‘Smudge’ (Steve Smith) hits 30 off 12 balls and gets out. That’s our win. His batting plan is 150 off 320. You would argue the more gaps we can leave him and if he makes one mistake with a fielder in the right place …
“We went from barely taking 20 wickets in a Test in a year to, in 13 Tests, I think we haven’t done it only once. Things like leaving mid-on and mid-off up. If you get hit for six, ‘OK, it again’. Hit for six again, ‘OK, do it again’. Then do it again, ‘OK, it’s gone straight up in the air’. It’s a great little battle. You just have sort of try to forget about economy rates.’’