Wednesday, 28 July 2010

England vs Pakistan... Stuart Broad...

So the venue is Trent Bridge, home of Nottinghamshire CC.
Just nine days ago, Stuart Broad took 8 for 52 against Warwickshire in their 2nd innings, finishing with match figures of 11 for 131!

For me, Broad is one of England's true stars, not just at the moment, but also for years to come; he is unique in the fact that he has learnt his trade whilst playing International cricket! Most of our current players; Collingwood, Strauss, Pietersen, Prior, Bell & Swann all spent years on the county circuit learning their trade - batting on 'puddings' and bowling on 'roads'. But the likes of Anderson, Cook and the previously mentioned Broad, were introduced to International cricket from a young age.

Broad has been open to criticism in the past for experimenting when bowling and not fulfilling his potential with the bat - but again, this lad has learnt his game against some of the world's finest ever players:
Ponting, Tendulkar, Dravid, Murali, Sangakarra, Jayawardene etc
These are cricketers who will feature in the top Test and ODI averages when they retire!

So my question is:
Does this make Stuart Broad an outstanding or average cricketer?

Broad averages 25 with the bat in tests and 36 with the ball.
Compare this to Andrew Flintoff:
Test Average of 31 with the bat and 32 ball!

These averages aren't that dis-similar - will Broad be regarded in the same way Freddie Flintoff was?

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