Former England captain and commentator Michael Atherton heaped praise on pacer Stuart Broad, saying the way the veteran has bounced back after being "knocked down” in the first Test against the West Indies that describes him a real “champion sportsman”.
Broad, England’s all-time second-highest Test wicket-taker after James Anderson with 499 scalps, was left out for the Test series opener against the Windies, but he was recalled for the remaining two matches where he has been relentless as usual with the red-ball – which impressed Atherton.
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The former captain believes that Broad still has “fire in the belly” to achieve a lot more for England, and even claimed that the pacer has the potential to claim 600 Test wickets.
Atherton wrote in a column for Sky Sports: “The mark of a champion sportsman is not when you get knocked down, but how you bounce back and we’ve seen that in this series with Stuart Broad.”
He further added, “When you get left out, that’s when you find out a little bit more about yourself. Some players, when they get to that stage and get left out, they might just say, ‘Well, I’ve done enough with my career’. But clearly Stuart Broad, with that fire in the belly he showed, has got more to come and he doesn’t just want to get 500 wickets - he wants to get up to 600 as well.”
Meanwhile, Broad has brilliantly shown his ability with the red-ball, taking six wickets in the series-leveling second Test while he is continued to wreak havoc on the tourists by claiming eight wickets in the ongoing final Test in Manchester.
Atherton added, “After being left out for the first Test at the Ageas Bowl, he had some things to say about it but my, has he backed up those words with actions. When you look at the way he’s bowled in this match, he just looks like he’s going to get a wicket every ball.”
Recently, Broad said he wanted to emulate compatriot Anderson and former skipper pointed out: “Broad made the point that he’s actually quite a bit younger than James Anderson. Of course, everyone brackets Broad and Anderson together because they’ve played together for so long.”
He signed off by saying, “True, he’s not going to get anywhere near Muttiah Muralitharan at 800 but just to be the fourth fast bowler to get 500 wickets would show remarkable longevity and stamina. He’s had a body that’s enabled him to do it and central contracts have helped as well - he doesn’t play white-ball and he doesn’t play much county cricket now either.”
(With Sky Sports Inputs)
