Stuart Broad has today been awarded ESPN Cricinfo’s award for Test Bowling Performance following his stunning spell of 8-15 against Australia as England regained the Investec Ashes at Trent Bridge.
The Nottinghamshire pace bowler ripped through Australia early on the Test’s first morning to bowl the visitors out for just 60, a spell that he says has captured the spirit of cricket in Nottingham.
“Wherever I go in Nottingham I bump into people who were here at the ground, I think the capacity has risen to about 100,000,” he said.
“It’s great to hear stories of people who were here, people who were running ten minutes late and missed a few wickets.
“I love it when people come up to me and tell me stories of their experiences that day. I’ve had families on the Eurostar heading to Paris, and they were all huddled around an iPad watching for the scores.
“It was one of those days which shocked people. You don’t see scores like that very often on a cricket field, especially when the Ashes were on the line.”
The regaining of the Ashes heralded a stunning period of form for Broad, who went on to gain the ICC’s number one ranking for Test bowlers, as well as picking up five wickets for just one run in England’s recent winter series against South Africa.
“I still can’t quite believe what happened really, it still doesn’t make a lot of sense. To bowl a spell like that at my home ground with my family here and to regain the ashes at Trent Bridge is something very special,” he said.
“It has helped my confidence, bowling a spell like that. I’ve always liked added pressure and there was a lot of pressure that day, especially with Jimmy missing out.
“It has really settled into me that I can deal with high pressure situations, and that’s something you always look at as a professional sportsman, to perform well you need to react well in those situations.
“Whenever I have a down period - you’re always going to go through phases where you’re not taking wickets, and everyone does - you have to look back on times that were really good and that Trent Bridge spell will always give me something to look back on.”
The 2015 season saw dramatic last-gasp four day victories, thrilling limited-overs contests and an historic Investec Ashes Test, all in the unique surroundings of Trent Bridge.
Next season, we’d wager, will be no less enthralling and frankly we’d hate for you to miss out.