Had you been asked at the start of this series which of England's two veteran, all-time great seamers would go into the Fourth Ashes Test still on course to play all five, the only sensible answer would have been to say neither.
Certainly, though, Stuart Broad did not think it would be him. During the Ireland Test at the start of last month, having been picked to lead what looked a second-string attack while James Anderson, Ollie Robinson and Mark Wood primed themselves for Australia's arrival, Broad gave a very un-Broadian press conference in which he — genuine shock — took no issue with the idea that he might not make the XI for the Ashes opener.
