Earmarked for stardom ever since he burst onto the county scene with Leicestershire in 2005, Broad is the son of former Notts and England opening batsman Chris.
Stuart Christopher John Broad was born in Nottingham on 24 June 1986 and in his earlier teenage years he was more successful as a hockey player, where his prowess as a goalkeeper led to an England trial. He started taking cricket more seriously from the age of 17, when a growth spurt led to his conversion from batsman to seam bowler. Having appeared in Leicestershire’s youth teams he was then faced with a choice of a place at Durham University or a contract with the County Cricket Club …. and having chosen the latter, the rest is history!
Stuart made his First-Class debut for Leicestershire in April 2005 (taking 30 wickets in ten First-Class matches during the season) and his List-A debut followed in September, by which time he had played for England under-19s against Sri Lanka in one Test and three ODIs. His England A debut came in March 2006 (in only his 11th First-Class match) and in June 2006 he made his first domestic T20 appearance in a 14-run victory against Notts at Grace Road. Three months later he was in the Foxes team that controversially beat the Outlaws in the rain-soaked Final of the Twenty20 Cup at Trent Bridge.
Stuart’s performances in county cricket led to selection for the England senior teams in 2006; his ODI and T20I debuts came against Pakistan in August at the age of 19, and later that year he was recognised as the Cricket Writers' Club ‘Young Cricketer of the Year’. His Test debut – against Sri Lanka in Colombo, sharing the new ball with Ryan Sidebottom – followed in December 2007, by which time Stuart had been that season’s leading wicket-taker for Leicestershire, received his county cap and announced his move to Nottinghamshire.
A virtual ever-present in the Test team since 2008, only three other players have made more Test appearances for England and only James Anderson has taken more wickets for the country. Stuart played a central role in the fifth and decisive Ashes Test of 2009, when his 5 for 37 in 12 overs – including 4 for 8 in 21 balls – turned the series in England’s favour. Broad was named amongst Wisden’s Cricketers of the Year for 2010, a season in which his 169 first-innings runs against Pakistan at Lord’s surpassed his father’s highest score for England and earned him a place on the batting honours board at ‘The Home of Cricket’ – a feat that Chris never achieved.
Stuart’s Test performances with the ball have included two hat-tricks – the first at Trent Bridge against India in July 2011 – and in 2012 he took 7 for 72 against West Indies in the first innings at Lord’s. He then claimed another four victims in the second innings to finish with Test-best figures of 11 for 165, while becoming the first bowler to take a ten-wicket haul in a Lord’s Test since Ian Botham in 1978. However he will probably always be remembered for his destructive burst of 8 for 15 in the Ashes Test at Trent Bridge in 2015.
‘’On this particular day … England’s fielders matched Broad’s brilliance – all eight wickets in his extraordinary 57-ball spell would come courtesy of catches in the slip cordon.’’ Wisden.com
Between 2006 and 2016 Stuart was also a key member of England’s white ball squads and, alongside Notts teammates Michael Lumb, Graeme Swann and Ryan Sidebottom, he was part of the team that beat Australia by seven wickets in the Final of the 2010 ICC World Twenty20 competition. Having taken eight wickets in the earlier matches he bowled four wicket-less overs in the Final, but his biggest impact came in the field when he removed the dangerous Cameron White by taking a brilliant catch off Luke Wright’s bowling.
This performance went some way to erasing the memory of being hit for six sixes in an over by Yuvraj Singh at the inaugural World Twenty20 in 2007, and Stuart went on to play in 56 T20Is (including 27 as captain), 121 ODIs and ten World Cup matches before deciding to focus on Test cricket from 2017 onwards.
Injury had prevented Stuart from joining the Kings XI Punjab in the Indian Premier League for 2011 and 2012, but he did make eight appearances for Hobart Hurricanes in the 2016/17 Big Bash when he took eight wickets with best bowling figures of 2 for 35.
In his first nine seasons with Notts Stuart had played only 22 County Championship matches, although two of these came in the Championship-winning season of 2010 when his 19 wickets – including a second inning’s return of 8 for 52 against Warwickshire at Edgbaston – helped achieve two valuable victories. In 2013 he made only his second List-A appearance for the Outlaws in the Final of the YB40 competition at Lord’s, when his three tail-end wickets helped seal an 87-run victory against Glamorgan.
Stuart’s restricted international focus from 2017 onwards enabled him to appear in 18 County Championship matches for Notts over the next three seasons, while also playing in 11 Royal London One-Day Cup matches during 2017 – including the Final at Lord’s, when the Outlaws beat Surrey by four wickets.
In February 2020 Stuart extended his association with Nottinghamshire for another two years, making 2021 his fourteenth season with his home county. “Every time I step out at Trent Bridge, it feels just as special as the first time I walked onto the turf at three or four years old,” he said. “I love Nottingham being my home, I love playing for the Club, and I certainly can’t envisage myself playing for any other county.”
500 UP!
At 11.47 on Tuesday 28 July 2020 at Old Trafford, Stuart got one to jag back, keep low and trap Kraigg Brathwaite LBW and thus join the very select band of bowlers to take 500 Test Wickets! Just to add another statistical gloss to the achievement - Brathwaite was also the 500th Test victim of James Anderson, a most improbable record.
Stuart's impressive form continued and three years later he took his 600th Test wicket - Travis Head caught by keeper Jonny Bairstow in the Fourth Ashes Test at Old Trafford.
The cricket world was surprised when, a week or so later, Stuart Broad announced his retirement from all formats of the game, on the penultimate day of the Fifth Test at The Oval. In typical Broad style, he signed off with a dual achievement unmatched in test cricket - he hit the last ball he received in Tests for six, and took a wicket with his very final delivery!
He finished with 604 Test wickets, behind only his long-time bowling partner and good friend Jimmy Anderson as a Test opening bowler. For Notts, Stuart Broad took 201 First-Class wickets with a best bowling of 8-52 against Warwickshire at Edgbaston in 2010.
On the final day of the 2023 season, during the lunch interval in the game against Middlesex, the club announced that, with immediate effect, the Pavilion End was to be re-named the Stuart Broad End. Chairman Andy Hunt called this, "a fitting tribute", given that two of Broad's most memorable performances - that 8-15 against Australia and the Sri Lanka hat-trick (thus becoming the only England bowler with two test hat-tricks) - were from 'his' end.
Stuart spoke warmly of his affection for Trent Bridge, which he remembered coming to as a boy when his father, Chris, was playing for Notts: "Trent Bridge was my playground", he said, "and it was the best playground in the world".
Stuart Broad, picture with club chairman Andy Hunt on the announcment of the Stuart Broad End.
In November, Stuart had a highly successul book tour that included a visit to a packed Royal Concert Hall in Nottingham; his year ended with nomination, and a place on the five-person short list for the 2023 BBC Sports Personality of the Year. He finished second in the public poll - pipped by another Nottingham sporting hero, Lioness's and Manchester United goalkeeper Mary Earps.
December 2023
Nottinghamshire First-Class Number: 598