England pace bowler Stuart Broad has started his summer on a high picking up a five-wicket haul in the first innings against Ireland. He returned with the figures of 5/51 as the visitors were skittled for only 172 runs in the 57th over of the innings. He was well supported by Matthew Potts and Jack Leach who scalped two and three wickets respectively. Broad's performance comes as a good news for England as the man will be key for them in the upcoming Ashes series against Australia starting from June 16.
Broad will turn 37 soon and is only 19 away from completing 600 wickets in Test cricket. He is delighted with the way his summer has started and hopes to continue in the same vein. "I actually felt probably in the best rhythm of the summer so far. To come into the first game of the international summer and really hit my straps and feel like I was on the money is a great start for me. I don't rely on confidence at my age, I know I can bowl well and where the ball is going, but it's always a nice lift when you have some wickets behind you," he said after the end of day's play.
Stuart Broad also rejoiced the feeling of getting his name on the Lord's honours board, not for the first time, and underlined the importance of bowling well after your team wins the toss. "You can't underestimate the feeling of seeing your name on the honours board here because it is the most famous in the world and it is very special to get on it. I've always loved playing here, it gives me such a buzz to walk through that long room and onto that pitch. A few of us were out there at tea when the sun was shining for one of the first times this season and we were all saying, 'How good's this? Blue sky at Lord's, a crowd in, Test match, it's as good as it gets.
"When you win the toss and bowl your aim is to try and bowl the team out in a day, so to have done that was a big tick for our bowling attack. Then I thought the way the three guys played this evening was exactly the mindset that Baz [Brendon McCullum] and Stokesy [Ben Stokes] want. It was positive, it was aggressive, it put the bowlers under pressure, and we'll hopefully see a bit more of that on Friday," he added.
Meanwhile, with this performance, Stuart Broad must have worried the Aussies as well who will be facing him in the five Tests after the WTC Final. It remains to be seen though if Broad will be able to carry the workload for five back to back Tests.
