Stuart Broad, a former England cricket player, has shared his widely shared response to England’s stunning defeat in the opening Ashes Test in Perth. Stuart Broad, who was on commentary duty with Matthew Hayden and Alison Mitchell, was seen furiously closing his eyes as England fell from 1/65 to 164 all out in just 18 overs.
After Cricket 7 published the event on X, Stuart Broad grimace, which was recorded during the live broadcast, went viral. After giving it some thought, Stuart Broad clarified that his response was instinctive only, triggered by the shock of seeing England lose control so quickly before losing by eight wickets. He acknowledged that he felt as though he could temporarily escape the impending catastrophe by keeping his eyes closed, suggesting that he could act as though it were not actually happening.
“Isn’t that what Test cricket does to you? It sort of makes you feel everything. In the blink of an eye, we lost four within that commentary period. “It was just a natural reaction for me to just close my eyes and just pray it wasn’t actually happening when ‘Rooty’ [Joe Root] chopped on,” Stuart Broad stated on the Sky Sports Cricket podcast.
“Perhaps this won’t be happening if I close them? In Australia, I’ve been there a lot previously, and they only minimally opened that door. As you see Jamie Smith come out to bat, you realise that you have never experienced anything like this and that you have never felt what is happening. While Australia deserves all the praise for their outstanding performance, he noted, “England simply opened that door.”
His response, Stuart Broad continued, was sincere and reflected exactly what an ardent England cricket fan would have been feeling at the time.
He pointed out that the situation was made even more daunting by the fact that England’s batsmen were facing not just players like Mitchell Starc and Scott Boland, but also the intimidating presence of 50,000 Australian spectators inside the stadium.
“In Australia, I’ve witnessed it many times when the entire stadium catches on, not just the Australian cricket team, and you can feel the entire atmosphere shift. Broad told the Sydney Morning Herald, “It’s really hard to do because you’re not just facing Mitchell Starc, you’re facing a 50,000 crowd, and the whole energy becomes quite intimidating.”
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