Writing in the Daily Mail, Stuart Broad opened up on why he had decided to sit out Nottinghamshire’s County Championship opener, despite having not been required for England’s most recent Test tour of the West Indies.
The right-arm seamer, with 537 Test wickets to his name, was dropped after England’s 4-0 Ashes defeat. Broad has spoken before of feeling “blindsided” by the decision, having taken 13 wickets in the Ashes at an average of 26.3, and has now detailed how he plans to make a comeback to the national side.
“As a centrally contracted player, though, I do not look forward from the first ball this week but backwards from the start of the international summer with England,” said Broad. “As a rule, I’ve always counted back from the first Test match rather than look to build towards it from the opening game and that is why I won’t be featuring in the first LV= County Championship contest at Sussex from this Thursday.”
Though Broad is currently not a part of the England squad, he stated that this call was made to keep himself in best possible shape for the upcoming home summer. His comments, expressing his opinion that eight consecutive weeks of matches is too much ahead of a Test series, may bring further scrutiny onto a domestic schedule which many feel attempts to squeeze too much first-class cricket into the beginning and ends of the season.
“Of course, I do not currently hold an England shirt but if I want to be in the first Test XI of summer 2022 — and I desperately do — the last thing I want is to be heading to Lord’s to take on New Zealand on June 2, seven Championship matches deep with the potential for carrying a niggle or feeling tired and heavy legs,” he said.
“Four back-to-back Test matches to start England’s home summer — three against New Zealand plus the rearranged one against India — will require every ounce of fitness and so I’m trying to make sure I am in peak condition for June. If I started on April 7 and played solidly for eight weeks, I would not be, and so I have identified fixtures to play to maximise form, fitness and preparation.
“Because, at the end of the day, getting back into the England team for me is not about taking lots of wickets in Division Two. Whether I take 10 or 45 in that first period of the season will not be the main factor for me as a bowler with 537 Test wickets, and good form in my recent international appearances.
“I have learned how to prepare for international home summers over 15 years and it is a bit like the way an Olympian uses events in the build-up to a Games. In the short term, you still want to win and influence results; if you do so, you are perfectly prepared for the bigger stage.
“For a bowler like me or Jimmy Anderson, it’s not so much about the numbers, it’s about being fit physically and mentally and ready for the battle and we won’t be in prime physical condition playing every week.”
On his England future, Broad revealed he hadn’t heard much from the England hierarchy, but said both he and Anderson had a “steely inner belief” that they will come back strongly.
“In terms of selection for that first Test against New Zealand, I don’t think there will be any clarity until a new managing director is appointed,” he said. “I haven’t had a great deal of contact with the ECB since I was left out of the tour of West Indies but I don’t really need any, to be honest.
“I have been able to move on from that disappointment, and there was no point dwelling on it, I just need to crack on with my own work. Anderson and myself are in the same boat and both of us have a steely inner belief that we can be successful for England again. The one thing I can control and have an influence on right now, though, is my performances for Notts when I get on the field.”
