Having etched his name in England’s cricketing folklore, legendary pacer Stuart Broad is now eyeing a move into coaching, hoping one day to nurture the next generation of Jofra Archers and Jimmy Andersons.
According to Broad, who is the second-highest wicket-taking fast bowler in Test cricket after his countryman Anderson, he has discussed his desire to develop the U-17 and U-19 players with Rob Key, managing director of the England cricket team.
“It’s certainly something I want to stay connected to, the coaching,” Broad, who has taken 604 Test wickets,” told The Telegraph.
“I’ve chatted to Rob Key a little bit about doing some stuff with the younger bowlers in the England setups when the schedule suits,” added the former pacer, who has hung up his spikes and taken on the role of a broadcaster.
Although he has not given a specific date for his decision to become a coach, Broad, who ranks seventh on the list of all-time top wicket-takers across formats, expressed optimism that it would happen as soon as next year.
“I haven’t set any sort of targets or dates of coaching or what’s to come, but probably next year I’d start looking at dipping my toe into it a little bit more.”
Prior to their World Test Championship match against Australia at Lord’s, that the Proteas won for their first ICC world title, Broad served as a consultant to the South African cricket team.
He thinks he can contribute to helping the England team’s younger bowlers advance more quickly.
“The U19s or even U17s – you really know what you’re developing, and you’ve got your base of technique, but the growth you can make between 15 and 20 is huge. What excites me the most is, where’s the next Jofra Archer? Where’s the next Jimmy Anderson? I watched on Instagram, Harry Moore, who’s been out with a stress fracture. I look at him and go, ‘huge talent, 6ft 6in, swings it both ways, hits good areas’. Where could he be in four years’ time? Maybe even less than that? Where can you spot these players whose ceiling is very high?”
Broad says he supports Rob Key’s strategy to bolster England cricket by bringing in veterans like Graeme Swann and Andrew Flintoff, among others.
“I’m completely on Rob Key’s side. You want your best cricket brains still sharing information to the best players, and you don’t want them to be put off by having to jump through loads and loads of hoops that might be a bit unnecessary with the knowledge they’ve got.”
To become a “really good broadcaster” is Broad’s other goal, and he thinks Indian cricketer-turned-commentator Ravi Shastri has an engaging voice.
“The level of analysis that Ricky Ponting gives, the detail that he’s going into. The tone of voice with Ravi Shastri – how he can go up and down and pick moments to really go. I’m always looking and learning. I’m definitely all in on the broadcasting at this moment in time, because I’m certainly not at a level that I’m comfortable with. I want to get better and better and be in those moments where I’m calling great cricket.”
