NOTTS and England paceman Stuart Broad was delighted to respond to Australian fans’ barracking with five wickets on the first day of the Ashes in Brisbane.
Broad secured pantomime villain status over a perceived lack of sportsmanship during the summer’s series in England, most notably his failure to walk after edging an obvious catch during the Trent Bridge Test.
He was booed when handed the new ball for the second over of the match, adding to a build-up which saw local newspaper the Brisbane Courier-Mail promise not to print Broad’s name in their coverage of the game.
He quickly responded, removing Chris Rogers with his seventh ball for his first scalp in figures of five for 65.
Broad entered the written section of his media briefing at the end of the first day with a copy of the Courier-Mail under his arm.
“There’s been a lot of build-up, a lot of talk, but we put everything else aside and focused on the game,” he said.
“I was preparing myself for a bit of stick but it’s nice to come away with picking up some wickets.
“You could easily walk away with none for 100 after being abused all day, but it certainly feels better with five for 60-odd.”
Those figures even saw Broad applauded off and he added: “The Aussies are good sports fans, they like to see tough, hard cricket.
“They like to give the opposition a bit of stick but they respect good sport.”
Broad led the way as Australia, despite winning the toss in perfect conditions for batsmen, needed a seventh-wicket partnership 114 to reach 273 for eight.
“After losing the toss on what is a belting batting wicket, to get eight wickets in the day is excellent,”
What a response from Broad.
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