I Don't Want This Ashes To Be My Final Destination In International Cricket: Stuart Broad

Senior England pacer Stuart Broad has said that he is enjoying playing cricket at the moment and he doesn’t want his career to come to an end after the end of Ashes in Australia in the upcoming winter.

In his column for the ‘Daily Mail’, Stuart Broad revealed that two years ago, he had set himself a goal of peaking at the Ashes in Australia.

Broad said that he saw the upcoming Ashes as his Olympics. However, that is not the case anymore as the champion pacer does not want the Ashes to be his final destination as he feels that he has a lot to offer to English cricket.

“Two years ago, when I set myself some goals on a tour of New Zealand, such as maintaining pace as a bowler, I saw the upcoming Ashes as my Olympics – something I really wanted to peak for. Of course, I still want to peak for it in terms of fitness, bowling rhythm and wickets. I just don’t view it as the end goal as an Olympian might. Often they talk about their ‘journey’ when they pick up medals, as if their job is complete, but I don’t want this Ashes to be my final destination in international cricket,” Stuart Broad wrote in his column for the Daily Mail.

I am loving cricket more than ever: Stuart Broad

Broad feels that the change in his thought process has been influenced by a recent change in attitude he’s observed among the public towards the more experienced performers across several sports.

“I will be helped by what appears to be a recent change in attitude towards more experienced performers. There has been a greater appreciation of those performing at an older age across several sports, such as Jimmy Anderson, Tom Brady, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, and Phil Mickelson,” Stuart Broad added.

The veteran pacer, who will be turning 35 shortly, reckoned that he is enjoying his cricket more than he did a decade ago.

“A month shy of my 35th birthday, I am loving cricket more than ever; much more than I was at 25. What’s pleased me most building up to Wednesday’s first Test against New Zealand at Lord’s is that I am already bowling at Test match intensity. I had a message from our fitness trainer Phil Scott, who looked at my GPS numbers a week ago against Worcestershire, and they were right up there,” Broad wrote.

Stuart Broad has been at the peak of his powers in the last 18-24 months. Since the start of August 2019, Broad is the leading wicket-taker in Test match cricket. In 19 Tests, the champion pacer has claimed 73 wickets at an average of 21.24 and a strike rate of 46.8 which includes two five-wicket-hauls and a ten-for.

Broad will be crucial to England’s fortunes in the upcoming summer where Joe Root’s team will play a couple of Test matches against New Zealand before locking horns with India in a five-match rubber.

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