Stuart Broad has resumed his war of words with Australia by writing off the last Ashes series as "void" due to Covid.
England were thumped 4-0 in Australia during their 2021-22 Ashes tour, with Joe Root's side avoiding a clean sweep thanks to a last-wicket stand between Broad and James Anderson in Sydney to salvage a draw. Root relinquished the captaincy three months later.
England are a completely different side now, winning 10 of their last 12 Tests under new skipper Ben Stokes. That has renewed confidence in the England camp, with fans hoping they can end their eight-year wait for an Ashes series victory this summer.
Broad is a four-time Ashes winner and hopes to be at the heart of England's campaign during June and July. The Nottinghamshire star is viewed as a pantomime villain in Australia, with Brisbane's Courier-Mail newspaper famously refusing to even print his name.
Broad is not afraid of the battle and has stuck the boot in early this year by claiming the last Ashes series was not a "real" one because of the Covid rules. The campaign was overshadowed by the pandemic, which hampered England's and Australia's preparation.
Speaking to the Daily Mail, Broad explained: "Nothing was harsher than the last Ashes series. In my mind, I don’t class that as a real Ashes. The definition of Ashes cricket is elite sport with lots of passion and players at the top of their game.
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"Nothing about that series was high level performance because of the Covid restrictions. The training facilities, the travel, not being able to socialise. I’ve written it off as a void series."
England have struggled against the Aussies in Test cricket since winning the 2013 Ashes. They were hammered 5-0 Down Under during the 2013-14 campaign and lost 4-0 when they returned to Australia four years later, with a solitary draw in Melbourne.
England's Ashes record is much better at home, as Australia haven't won a series in Britain since 2001. They did achieve a 2-2 draw on their last visit, however, which was enough for Tim Paine's side to retain the Ashes. Pat Cummins is the current Australia captain.
Broad, who turns 37 in June, is coming towards the end of his glittering international career, with other bowlers knocking on England's door. Chris Woakes, Jofra Archer, Saqib Mahmood, Craig Overton, Matthew Potts, Ollie Robinson, Jamie Overton, Matthew Fisher, Sam Curran, Mark Wood and Olly Stone will all want to play in the Ashes if fit.
As such, Broad will need to be at the top of his game if he wants to keep his spot. Broad has taken 576 Test wickets during his career, with only Anil Kumble (619), Anderson (685), Shane Warne (708) and Muttiah Muralitharan (800) boasting more.
On reaching 600, Broad added: "I don’t think about 600 wickets. It doesn’t bother me at all. Only because I got to that stage last year when I was so disappointed to be left out I thought I’d never take another wicket. So everything is a great bonus for me now."
