England bowler Stuart Broad has opened up about the "scary damage" a huge fire caused to the pub he co-owns with former teammate Harry Gurney.
The Tap & Run pub in Upper Broughton was devastated by the blaze while Broad was playing for England in the second Test against New Zealand at Trent Bridge, with eight fire engines called to the scene.
After England won the Test in dramatic fashion thanks to Jonny Bairstow's brilliant 136 and Ben Stokes ' unbeaten 75, Broad visited the pub to assess the damage. "Parts of the roof had fallen into the bottom floor, all the windows were blown out and it showed what scary damage a fire can cause," he told the Daily Mail .
"I've always had the ability to focus on what's in front of me and I knew during the Test match I couldn't control anything other than getting in touch with the staff and checking everyone was okay.
"I feel for the villagers, because they really embraced us. But if things go to plan, we will make it special again."
Broad also issued a statement on Twitter, vowing that the business would "come out the other side". He wrote: "I couldn't believe the news this morning. Not sure I still can.
"Our wonderful pub caught fire in the early hours. Thankfully no one was hurt, the Nottinghamshire fire service were incredible in their efforts and thank you to the villagers for the wonderful support and sorry for the disruption.
"Thinking of our awesome staff today, every single person there has created a special pub for the community. It hurts right now but we will come out the other side."
Broad and Gurney, who played alongside each other for both England and Nottinghamshire, started The Cat & Wickets Pub Company in 2016 and launched their first pub, The Three Crowns near Loughborough.
They then expanded the business by opening the Tap & Run in 2018, before closing The Three Crowns last year after opting not to renew the lease. In a statement, they blamed a "turbulent 18 months for the hospitality industry" due to the Covid pandemic.
