The Ashes: Stuart Broad credits teenage Australian stint as ‘biggest learning experience of my career’

One of Australia’s greatest Ashes foes has credited the stint he spent playing in the country as a teenager as hugely formative for the legendary career he would go on to forge.

Stuart Broad tormented England’s oldest rival with regularity over the course of his 17 years as a Test cricketer, bagging 153 of his 604 wickets against Australia.

But before he represented his country for the first time, the fifth-leading wicket-taker in the history of Test cricket spent a season representing Hoppers Crossing Cricket Club in Melbourne’s sub-district competition as an 18-year-old.

Broad — now a Seven commentator in the ongoing Ashes series — said his time in Australia was “the biggest learning experience of my career”.

“I loved absolutely every moment of it,” Broad said on The Front Bar: Cricket Edition.

Don’t miss Stuart Broad on The Front Bar: Cricket Edition tonight at 8.30pm on Seven and 7plus

“(You can) talk about sledging in Ashes cricket — there was nothing more ferocious than a young English lad out of a public school coming here, it was pretty brutal.

“The biggest thing I learnt . . . you had these battles through the day and it was on, my team would back me up like you wouldn’t believe against the opposition, and then you’d get in the change rooms after and you’d have a beer. The person who’d been calling you every name under the sun all day was the first person who’d sit next to you, and I loved it.

“In England at the time, you were only allowed to bowl five-over spells or six-over spells at that age. I came here and they lobbed me the new ball and said ‘you bowl until you’re tired’. I think I bowled like a 16-over spell day one.”

When asked why he always seemed to save his best for Australia, Broad said the importance of The Ashes had been impressed on him from a young age, when he watched his father Chris play for England.

“My dad was involved in (the) 86/87 (series) over here, so I grew up around it. Kids at four years old are generally watching Postman Pat and I was watching him play Ashes cricket,” Broad said.

“I loved the competitive spirit of the Australians, I think that brought the best out of my competitive spirit as well.

“To me, Ashes cricket was always the absolute pinnacle and it just motivated me so much.”

As Broad watched the first Ashes Test since his retirement in 2023 from the commentary box, a blistering Travis Head hundred powered Australia to an eight-wicket win inside two days in Perth.

The one-sided nature of the result has seen the tourists’ Bazball approach come in for huge criticism but Broad said he was confident captain Ben Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum would be able to inspire their side to get back into the series.

“It (Bazball) is just a mindset that the guys try to play with. That doesn’t mean you try to drive through extra cover in Western Australia,” he said.

“It’s obviously been a really tough start, but let’s be honest, it was a really tough start for all the batters, except for Travis Head.

“Baz (McCullum) will get around them, get them tight, and give them confidence.”