BIRMINGHAM, Sunday – Stuart Broad paid tribute to the “big influence” of Ian Botham on his career after beating the England great’s tally of Test wickets.
The 31-year-old paceman produced one of the wicket-taking bursts for which he has become known with a spell of three for four in 11 balls as England hammered the West Indies inside three days to win the inaugural day/night Test in Britain by an innings and 209 runs at Edgbaston on Saturday.
It left Broad with 384 Test wickets to outstanding all-rounder Botham’s 383.
Only new-ball partner James Anderson, who has 492 Test wickets to his credit, is now ahead of Broad in England’s all-time list.
Broad, who has two Test hat-tricks to his credit, almost had a third on Saturday before Kemar Roach got his bat in the way.
No that Broad had long to wait to go past Botham, who was commentating on the match for television, as two overs later he bowled Shane Dowrich.
Broad’s links to Botham extend beyond his own impressive career.
His father Chris Broad, a former opening batsman, played in the same England side as Botham and the pair both enjoyed a successful Ashes-winning tour of Australia in 1986/87.
“My dad made me watch ‘On Top Down Under’ (the BBC video chronicling the tour) relentlessly -- 86-87, I was three months old (then) but I watched that throughout the early 90s.”
Botham reserved some of his most outstanding performances for Australia, notably during the 1981 Ashes series where he starred with both bat and ball, while Broad took his Test-best figures against England’s arch-rivals with a remarkable return of eight for 15 that set up an Ashes-clinching win at his Trent Bridge home ground two years ago.
“He is someone who has been a big influence on me,” said Broad junior.
“Obviously, playing with my dad and watching some of his performances against Australia, he is a huge legend of English cricket but someone who has given a lot back to this team, actually.
“I was very fortunate to get my Test cap off him back in 2007.
He is someone who obviously has an influence on us, the way he performed against Australia.” Broad added: “He is someone who is passionate about English cricket and you can tell he wants us to do well. – AFP
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