England's Stuart Broad, centre, celebrates with teammates the wicket of Australia's Brad Haddin on the second day of the fifth cricket test match between England and Australia at The Oval cricket ground in London, Friday, Aug.21, 2009. AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth
Most may know Stuart Broad as the baby-faced fast bowler that terrorised Australia’s batsmen in the last Ashes series. But despite playing just 29 tests for England, he’s had his fair share of on-field controversies, with his most recent indiscretion occurring at Edgbaston this week.
Recognised as one of the deadliest bowlers in England’s attack, Stuart Broad is probably one of the most feared players for the Australians in the upcoming Ashes series.
He has an outstanding ability to swing and bounce the ball, as well as achieve some awesome reverse-swing and his variation in an over is fast becoming legendary. His competency with the bat, as most bowlers are these days, makes him an even greater asset to England.
But there is another aspect to this tall Englishman’s cricket which is less than flattering.
It wasn’t his career best 8-52 performance at Trent Bridge last week which made the headlines. Instead it was yet another episode of poor sportsmanship on the pitch.
On the third day of the second test against Pakistan in Edgbaston, after collecting the ball, without any provocation, Broad propelled it at the head of Pakistan’s impressive batsman, Zulqarnain Haider. As a result of this severe lapse in judgment, Broad was rightly fined 50 percent of his match fee by the International Cricket Council, for the Level 2 offence.
It is this kind of ill-directed aggression, which prompted past England captains Nasser Hussain and Michael Vaughn to criticise the wily young bowler, whose behaviour is not dissimilar to that of his father, former England batsman, Chris Broad.
And the Edgbaston incident earlier in the week is not an isolated case.
On several occasions Broad has whinged to umpires, wasted time, displayed poor etiquette and disrespected match officials – hardly a way to play what is supposedly a ‘gentleman’s game’.
Then there were the accusations of ball tampering in January this year when England played against South Africa. Broad appeared to have deliberately stood his spiked boots into the ball, which potentially assists bowlers in achieving effective reverse swing. The allegations were vehemently denied by Broad and the England camp, and with South Africa refusing to file an official complaint, they escaped punishment from officials.
Broad is a professional cricketer. As such, the display he puts on is not becoming of such a sportsman and it is especially not in the best interest of cricket. At this elite level of the game, it is no excuse to act so immaturely simply because the going gets tough, or because your opposition starts to get under your skin, for that is simply a fact of sport. You’re bound to lose at some stage, but you can’t just go around throwing a 160 gram projectile at a batsman’s head!
For Australia’s sake I hope they get the better of Broad in the upcoming Ashes series, because his inability to handle such pressure when things don’t go his way is a massive mental weakness that can, and must be exploited.
Having undertaken a new fitness regime, and bulking up his lanky figure earlier this season, Australia can expect a stronger, fitter and yes, broader Stuart Broad come the Ashes series.
But what cricket loving fans like myself do not want to see, is the unsportsmanlike and dirty play that Stuart Broad has showcased thus far in his brief test career. For his sake, Australia’s sake, and the sake of cricket in general.
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