Stuart Broad could not resist taking a dig at his long-time England bowling partner James Anderson after seeing a clip of NBA legend LeBron James being reminded of his age during a game between the LA Lakers and the Houston Rockets.
During the match, teenage Rockets forward Jabari Smith Jr reminded James that when he made his NBA debut back in 2003 for the Cleveland Cavaliers, he took on a Sacramento Kings side that his father, Jabari Smith Sr, was a part of.
"Hey, you played against my dad your first NBA game ever," Smith Jr said after approaching James mid-game, to which the 38-year-old replied: "Why'd you do that to me?" James later laughed off the exchange, telling NBA TV: "Made me feel old as crap, too.
"He even said 'you feel old don't you' and I replied 'absolutely'. I've had the pleasure and the opportunity to play against a few father and son combinations, like Gary Trent and Gary Trent Jr.
"It's been a great ride man, in these last 20 years. I've been able to see a lot of players come in and come out so, it's been nice and it's an honour for me."
And Broad simply quote tweeted a clip of the exchange between Smith Jr and James by tagging Anderson, who turned 40 last year and continues to star for England's Test team. It comes after Anderson watched Rehan Ahmed become England's youngest ever Test cricketer in the recent series against Pakistan.
The 18-year-old was born on August 13, 2004, over a year after Anderson made his Test debut against Zimbabwe on May 22, 2003. It was a fact not lost on Ahmed, who told ESPNcricinfo ahead of the tour: "He's played international cricket longer than I've been alive. It's crazy."
And he dutifully pointed it out to Anderson in a pre-series warm-up match between the England Lions and the senior team. "I'm not sure how I feel about it to be honest," Anderson said ahead of Ahmed's debut.
"It's something he brought up when we were playing the Lions match in Abu Dhabi last month. I was in the slips and he passed the message on: 'You do realise you made your debut before I was born?' I find it quite cool. It does make me feel old but it’s nice I've been around long enough, seeing guys like him get a chance."
