"Part of my strategy really was to pick a fight with a couple of Australians" - Stuart Broad opens up on verbal spat at Lord's
Senior England player Stuart Broad revealed the intention behind his verbal spat with Australian counterparts in the second Ashes Test at Lord's.
Australia wicketkeeper Alex Carey's stumping of Jonny Bairstow, who wandered out of the crease after ducking a short ball from Cameron Green, sparked a huge debate.
Stuart Broad walked in to bat after the controversial dismissal, and the fast bowler took a barb at Carey straight away. The stump mic caught Broad saying:
"That is all you will ever be remembered for."
The England fast bowler later told Australia skipper Pat Cummins:
"Literally, that's the worst thing I've ever seen in cricket, that."
Speaking to Sky Sports about those verbal jibes in England's 371-run chase, Stuart Broad said:
"Sometimes I like to just get in a little bit of banter for myself. I knew I had such an important moment in that game at Lord's. I need to make sure I was mentally switched on and able to do a job for Ben Stokes at the other end."
He added:
"Part of my strategy really was to pick a fight with a couple of Australians. I wouldn't be focusing on too much technique. I would be focusing on the ball and make sure I stayed there."
"Part of my strategy was to pick a fight with the Australians!" ⚔️
Stuart Broad is enjoying the Ashes rivalry 💪 https://t.co/23742Kdto3
England eventually lost the second Test by 43 runs after they were bowled out for 227, despite Ben Stokes' scintillating knock (155 off 214 balls).
Stuart Broad is eyeing a huge milestone at Old Trafford
Stuart Broad claimed five wickets at Headingley in both innings of the third Test as England pulled off a dramatic three-wicket win to keep their Ashes hopes alive.
The Nottinghamshire pacer is just two wickets shy of becoming the fifth bowler in the history of Test cricket to complete 600 wickets. Broad is likely to start at Old Trafford as England names an unchanged squad for the fourth Test.
Broad will join Anil Kumble (619), James Anderson (688), Shane Warne (708), and Muttiah Muralitharan (800) in the elite club of bowlers to snap 600 Test scalps.