Never afraid to speak his mind, Broad's cricket career may have had its controversial moments, but his ability as an opening left-hand batsman was never in doubt.

The zenith of his career was being awarded International Cricketer of the Season after England's 2-1 Ashes win in Australia in 1986-87. During this tour he emulated Hobbs, Hammond and Woolmer by scoring hundreds in three successive Tests against Australia.

He finished the series with a batting average of 69.57, more than 10 runs ahead of any other player on either side. His height, allied to his sound technique, was ideally suited to the Australian pitches of the time.

Coming back to England for the 1987 season, he had the misfortune to break a thumb just prior to the First Test and then struggled against the pace of Imran Khan when he returned to the Test arena. Broad's final Test came in 1989.

In First-Class cricket, Broad played initially for his native Gloucestershire, but announced that the county was not popular with Test selectors and left in 1984 to sign for Nottinghamshire. His theory seemed to be proved correct when he was picked for England just two months after his Notts debut, hitting 55 against the formidable West Indies attack of that time.

Broad opened the innings with Robinson and the pair were so successful that their average for the first wicket partnership is the highest in Notts' history. His best summer at Trent Bridge perversely came the season after England discarded him - in 1990 he hit 2,226 runs at 54.29, the last time a Notts cricketer reached 2,000 runs in a season. In 1992 he completed the unusual feat of having hit a hundred against every First-Class county before returning to Gloucestershire in 1994.

Brian Christopher Broad was born in Knowle, West Midlands, on 29 September 1957. He suffered from osteomyelitis at the age of 15 and this delayed his development as a cricketer. His First-Class debut came for Gloucestershire in 1979 and he secured a permanent place in the team the following summer.

Broad played 25 Tests and 34 One-Day Internationals and 340 First-Class games.  He finished with 21,892 First-Class runs at 38.07 with a top score of 227no; he also took 16 wickets with his right-arm medium pacers.  In List-A cricket he made a further 10,396 runs at 34.76, with 122 his top score.

He retired at the end of the 1994 season with a hip injury. In recent years he has been a cricket commentator and is now a Test Match referee. He made the news in 2020 for issuing a rebuke and fine to one England bowler...his son Stuart!

Chris Broad was elected as President of Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club at the start of the 2023 season in succession to Basher Hassan.

 

November 2023

Nottinghamshire First-Class Number: 497

See Chris Broad's career stats here

An experimental two-faced bat used by Chris Broad is on display in the Museum Room; Bat No MR 24