Former England cricketer Stuart Broad has opened up about his viral reaction to England's dramatic collapse in the first Ashes Test in Perth. While on commentary duty alongside Alison Mitchell and Matthew Hayden, Broad was seen closing his eyes in visible frustration as England tumbled from 1/65 to 164 all out in just 18 overs.
Broad’s expression, captured during the live broadcast, quickly went viral after Cricket 7 shared the moment on X. Reflecting on it, Broad explained that his reaction was purely
instinctive, brought on by the shock of witnessing England lose control so rapidly before eventually slipping to an eight-wicket defeat. He admitted that closing his eyes felt like a way to momentarily escape the unfolding disaster, joking that perhaps if he kept them shut, he could pretend it was not really happening.
“That’s what Test cricket does to you, doesn’t it? It sort of brings all your emotions out. It was that period of commentary where we lost four in the blink of an eye. When ‘Rooty’ [Joe Root] chopped on, it was just a natural reaction for me to just close my eyes and just pray it wasn’t actually happening," Broad said on the Sky Sports Cricket podcast.
"If I close them, maybe this isn’t actually happening? I’ve been there loads of times before in Australia … where they just opened that door slightly. And you just see Jamie Smith walking out to bat, and think you’ve never been in a situation like this before, you’ve never felt what is going on. Credit to Australia, they were absolutely superb – but England just opened that door,” he added.
Broad added that his reaction was genuine and mirrored exactly how a passionate England cricket fan would have felt at that moment. He noted that England’s batters were not only battling the likes of Mitchell Starc and Scott Boland but were also up against the intimidating presence of 50,000 Australian fans inside the stadium, which made the situation even more overwhelming.
"I’ve seen it plenty of times in Australia when not just the Australian cricket team grab the game but the whole stadium does and you felt the whole energy of everything change. It’s so difficult to do because you’re not just facing Mitchell Starc, you’re facing a 50,000 crowd and the whole energy becomes quite intimidating," Broad said to Sydney Morning Herald.
