Stuart Broad maintains he was fit to play in the first Ashes Test at the Gabba, and had he done so, he would have had a positive influence on the match.
England’s decision to leave out both Broad and James Anderson for the series opener has been widely panned, especially given spinner Jack Leach was targetted by the Australian batters, conceding 102 runs from just 13 overs in the first innings.
It was the first time in more than five years England had gone into a Test match without at least one of Broad or Anderson.
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Writing in his Daily Mail column, Broad said he had a gut feeling he would miss out.
“Because of the conditions in the build-up, the team for the first Test wasn’t named early. Instead, a 12 was announced, to be narrowed to an XI next morning and I got the sense that the final decision was between me and Jack Leach,” he wrote.
“Sometimes you just get a bit of a feeling within yourself, and my feeling was that I would only play in a five-man seam attack.
“Of course, I was disappointed not to play but I also realise this series is a marathon and not a sprint. Never have five Test matches been as bunched up as this and it will be exhausting, so realistically I don’t think any seamer will play all five.”
Despite the margin of the loss, Broad says he would have made a difference had he played.
“I love Ashes cricket, love bowling at the Gabba and feel like I could’ve had a positive influence on a pitch like that,” he said.
“There is no time to feel sorry for ourselves, dwell on not batting, bowling, or catching very well. We know that’s the case.
“What we mustn’t do is carry negatives with us for the next month. We’ve done that on Ashes tours past and consistently lost. We must pretend it’s 0-0 in a four-match series and go again.”
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