Chris Broad – The Underachiever
Chris Broad was a former English opening batsman. He played 25 Test and 34 ODI matches and scored 1661 and 1361 runs respectively. Broad will always be remembered for his three consecutive Test centuries in the 1986/87 Ashes series. His fiery temper at the crease came under scrutiny many times. His son Stuart also represents England and his daughter Gemma worked as a performance analyst with England’s One-Day squad.
Embed from Getty ImagesGloucestershire to Nottinghamshire:
Broad made his First-class debut for Gloucestershire in 1979. He moved to Nottinghamshire in 1984 due to lack of vision at Gloucestershire. Broad returned to Gloucestershire in 1993 and played one season before retiring due to hip injury. He played for Orange Free State in the 1985/86 season as well.
Temperamental Issues:
Broad knocked his stumps out of the ground after being bowled in the 1988 Sydney Bicentennial Test and was fined £500 by the tour manager. He was involved in unpleasant exchanges of words after being dismissed on many occasions. His international career ended due to lack of self-control while he was at his prime.
Embed from Getty ImagesSaved life during Lahore attacks in 2009:
Broad became an ICC Test Official in 2003. He was travelling in a convoy of vehicles during the second Test of the Sri Lanka and Pakistan series at Lahore. The terrorists attacked the convoy while they were going to the stadium. Broad risked his life and saved an injured umpire. Later he criticized the security in a press conference and said, “We were promised high levels of security and in our hour of need that security vanished”.
Broad was also a member of the unofficial and controversial 1990 rebel tour to South Africa. He established the charity ‘The Broad Appeal’ in February 2011 to raise awareness for MND.
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Featured Image Credit: Harrias – CC BY-SA 4.0 (resized as per the need and changed the background)