Stuart Broad says he has an “addiction to Test cricket” after joining the exclusive 600 club and paid tribute to Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum for providing him with a “new lease of life” over the last year.
Broad took two wickets on the opening day of the Fourth Ashes Test at Old Trafford, the second of those seeing the Nottinghamshire quick become only the fifth man to pass the landmark of 600 in a Test career.
The 37-year-old is both the second Englishman and second seamer into that group, behind James Anderson, with spinners Muttiah Muralitharan, Shane Warne and Anil Kumble the other players to have managed the feat.
Little more than a year ago, Broad’s Test future was in doubt after he and James Anderson were left out of the spring’s tour to the West Indies, but both were immediately recalled following Stokes and McCullum’s appointment as captain and coach and no seamer in world cricket has been more prolific since.
“I’ve definitely got an addiction to Test match cricket, to the competitive side of it,” Broad said. “Baz and Stokesy have given me a new lease of life. It’s such a free environment, it feels, in the nicest possible way, that you’re playing club cricket but you’re doing it at the highest level.
“I owe a lot in the last 14 months to the way Baz and Stokesy brought energy to the group and I’ve been able to match that energy. It’s probably been the most enjoyable year of my Test career, and that’s an incredible thing to be able to say at the age of 37.
“I’ve loved every moment of this series, it’s the series that keeps on giving really.”
Broad’s milestone was the highlight of a strong day for England, with Chris Woakes taking four wickets to reduce Australia to 299 for eight at the close after Stokes had won the toss and made the punchy decision to send the tourists in to bat.
"The nightmare today would have been Australia 350-3 at the close so we are delighted to take eight wickets. A lot of balls were middled but there were big wicket balls in there as well.
"It’s not nipped or swung all over the place,” Broad added. “We weren’t winning the toss and hoping for 160 all out, put it that way.
“We will see what tomorrow brings when both teams have batted on this pitch. You usually think of Test matches that have longevity here. Days two and three can be a fantastic time for batting at Old Trafford."
