‘The first hour is everything’ – Stuart Broad relives his 8-15

What better way to celebrate Stuart Broad’s retirement than by remembering his demolition of Australia in the 2015 Ashes? In the 2016 Wisden, he talked in detail about his perfect day.

The most remarkable figures by an England pace bowler could not have been recorded at a more valuable moment. England were 2-1 up with two to play, but James Anderson had broken down, and Australia would retain the Ashes if the series finished all square. So Stuart Broad did not sleep much the night before the fourth Test at Trent Bridge. “It’s always that feeling of not knowing what the next day holds,” he says. “The toss of a coin decides if I go and make a cup of tea, or have the pressure of leading the attack.”

After the Edgbaston Test, Anderson and Ben Stokes had stayed with Broad, rather than go home. They had eaten in and out, including a barbecue cooked by Broad’s former Nottinghamshire team-mate Charlie Shreck. “He was the most nervous chef you’ve ever seen. All he could think of was poisoning three of England’s Ashes players.” Yet, even after several days of mentally adjusting to his new role, the thought was still making Broad more nervous than usual.

“It’s amazing how sport moves on, though. We got in the changing-rooms and had handshakes, well done, and then we had 15 minutes to bat before lunch. And all of our talk was that it’s a very important 15 minutes, lads. Don’t let them back in the game.”

“What made it special after bowling Australia out for 60 was to make 274-4 by the close. If we had only got 120, people would have said it was just a green seamer. But Rooty got a hundred, and Jonny got a great 70. It was one of those days that just couldn’t have been more perfect.”