Stuart Broad sends emotional plea as England cricket icon sets Strictly Come Dancing record straight
Stuart Broad is determined to get hold of his final ball as England cricket icon opens up
PA
Stuart Broad has revealed he'd love to get hold of his final ball in Test cricket.
The England icon bowed out of the sport on a high at the beginning of the month, taking the final two wickets as his side beat Australia in the fifth and final Ashes Test.
Broad has, however, been unable to locate the ball in the time since.
And the 37-year-old, speaking to the Daily Mail, has now sent an emotional plea as he looks to get hold of it.
Stuart Broad has opened up on retirement after helping England beat Australia in fifth Ashes Test
PA
"I’m still trying to locate the ball," he said. "I don’t know whether [Jonny] Bairstow just threw it up in the air or the umpires have got it, or whatever, but I’m still on the hunt for it.
"I have put in enquiries, because it would be nice to have it."
In the short time since Broad's retirement, there's been speculation that the England cricketer may be about to give Strictly Come Dancing a go.
The BBC show are looking for a sporting figure to feature in the competition.
But Broad has now seemingly shut down those rumours, saying: "One, I can’t dance and two, I quite like the idea of not training for something now."
Broad's final moments in cricket were like something straight out of a fairytale.
After 15 years at the top he stepped up to prevent Australia from winning a first Ashes in Britain since 2001.
And Broad admits that he loved playing against the Aussies more than any other opponent.
"Yeah, I certainly look fondly on playing against Australia and to be in the top three with [Shane] Warne and [Glenn] McGrath in terms of Ashes wickets is special because they were two heroes of mine," he continued.
"And to me the reason I am there is not so much because of my ability.
"I’ve never seen myself as one of the most naturally-gifted bowlers like a Jimmy Anderson or a Dale Steyn.
"No one would ever look at my bowling and claim that I have a classical action or that I have the ball on a string.
"No one would say that I have caused loads of problems for opponents through skill.
"Relentlessness, determination and tactical nous have been my core attributes.
"There is so much data around that if you have an inquisitive mind you can find ways to make things more difficult for even the best batters.
"David Warner was an example of someone who had been a real thorn in my side and I had to change my style because of that.
"I’m 6ft 6in and he’s 5ft 6in, we have very different body shapes and I was bowling from such a height that he was constantly playing me off the back foot.
"So I had to change my lines, lengths and angles to him, or he was just going to keep defeating me. I managed to turn the balance of those battles around.
"Although I didn’t dismiss him very often personally, the research I did on Marnus Labuschagne was another example and as a team we bowled really well at him by going wide of the crease.
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Stuart Broad was impressive for England during the recent Ashes series
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"The data showed Labuschagne is not a player dismissed lbw very often, and that suggested while facing up to mid-crease bowling he’s a phenomenal player, if you could change the angles it might bring his outside edge into play.
"Once he nicked two at Edgbaston, he was worried about it for the rest of the series and that’s where Ashes cricket is so brutal.
"It just keeps coming at you all the time. Test after Test after Test."
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