Stuart Broad says England can “feel the energy of the country” after his brilliant spell on the fourth evening of the First Test set-up a finale with the potential to rival Edgbaston’s 2005 epic.
Broad took the vital wickets of Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne, the No1 and No2 ranked batters in the world, as Australia were reduced to 107 for three in pursuit of the 281 required for victory.
That is just one run shy of the target set for Ricky Ponting’s side during the Second Test of the 2005 series on the same ground, which England eventually won by two runs with Michael Kasprowicz’s famous dismissal.
“When it was raining yesterday it was being played on the big screen and on telly and we were watching so we were aware that it was around 280-odd,” Broad said. “Hopefully, it doesn’t get as close as that and we get a few wickets early because that won’t do much for the heart, will it?
“I absolutely loved every second of that last hour, it was so good running in and hearing that roar and that cheer. Everyone keeps walking into our changing room and going: ‘Wow, how loud is this place? How good is it playing here?’. That’s so special, to play Test cricket in front of crowds like this. Ashes cricket is just magical, isn’t it?”
This summer’s series had been billed as the biggest since 2005 off the back of England’s red-ball resurgence under Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum. So far, it has delivered, with four days of gripping Test cricket and little between the sides heading into the decisive fifth.
“Honestly as a group we’ve got so much energy around, we can feel the energy of the country,” Broad added. “I think each player has had a lot more messages and a lot more engagement from friends of the Ashes coming around.
“I think that’s partly because of the style of cricket the England team has played for the last 12 months, partly because we are one of the only sports on at the moment and it’s been an exciting start to the series.
“It does feel like the same energy as ’05, and if we have a series like that we’re going to inspire a lot of kids to play the game, aren’t we?”
