“It is very much a chance to show what I can do”
Image courtesy of: Zimbio
Stuart Broad will play in his 100th Test against India on Wednesday, and the England pace bowler is unsurprisingly determined to make his presence felt.
England will go into the series having had no warm-up matches and coming off a disappointing tour of Bangladesh, where they lost their first-ever Test match to the subcontinent nation and were forced to settle for a 1-1 draw in the two-Test series.
Nonetheless, Broad is determined to make up for his under-par performance during England’s last tour of India in 2012, in which he suffered an injury and was limited to just 36 overs. Despite this, England went on to win the series 2-1 and made history as they had not won in India since 1984/85.
“It is very much a chance to show what I can do (in India),” he said. “I probably shouldn’t have played that series – I wasn’t fit. I think I only bowled 25 overs in the series. I lacerated the fat pad in my left heel before the first Test match in the warm-up game, and the scans just didn’t show it. It was a frustrating period for me, but I feel in a pretty good place at the moment … and I’m excited to get going.”
Broad also acknowledged that England will be under immense pressure right from the get-go of the series as everyone will be looking to see whether they can turn their fortunes around after their dismal tour of Bangladesh.
“Without a doubt. I think we are coming here as massive underdogs … India have got to number one in the world and played some brilliant cricket here, so we’re very aware this is a huge challenge,” the 30-year-old said.
Even though England will be closely scrutinised throughout the series, Broad is relishing the prospect of beating India in front of their own fans.
“It’s amazing to be part of series like this and Ashes series and South African series,” he said. “It makes you want to become a better bowler, because you need to keep improving to live at this level.”
With Broad on the brink of entering the 100-Test club, he insisted that he is not setting any targets for himself or thinking about when he will retire from the sport.
“I try not to think about end of careers, because I think that makes you slow down as a player,” he added. “I think as soon as you set those targets, you stop chasing to improve, you stop training very hard. I certainly want to play in big series, and that counts at least two more Ashes series in my view.”
The Nottingham native, though, admitted that it is hard to not feel excited about the fact that he is set to win his 100th cap in the longest format of the game.
“Obviously I’m aware how special an achievement it is because of the players that have come before me – the amount they’ve given to English cricket,” he said. “So it will be a special cap to receive. But actually, I think what excites me more is we hope this game will be the start of a huge series for us as well.
“It’s great to get a milestone, being in such an important game. We know how vital it is to start these tours well. We’ve been training really hard the last couple of weeks since Dhaka, to put some wrongs right.
“It’s always a dream, isn’t it, to play as much for your country as possible. There’s not many of those Test caps with the little 100 below the Three Lions.”