“Shoeless, he walked towards me, his whole foot strapped, blood seeping out of the bandages” - Nasser Hussain doffs hat to Stuart Broad

Former England captain Nasser Hussain hailed veteran pacer Stuart Broad for his brilliant spell on Day 4 of the first Ashes 2023 Test against Australia at Edgbaston on Monday, June 19. Praising the 36-year-old, he described Broad as someone who is going to give it everything until he hangs up his boots.

The England pacer gave the hosts the upper hand in the Edgbaston Test by dismissing Marnus Labuschagne (13) and Steven Smith (6) in the last session on Day 4. Chasing 281, Australia were well-placed at 78/1 before Broad produces two beauties to have Labuschagne and Smith caught behind.

The Aussies went to stumps at 107/3, needing a further 174 for victory on Day 5, with seven wickets in hand.

Writing in his column for The Daily Mail, Nasser Hussain was effusive in his praise of Stuart Broad. He stated:

“He is one who can say that he always gave it his absolute everything.” Hussain added.

“Broad was on his knees with two balls to go in that spell, he had been sprinting back to the end of his mark to beat the clock and bowl one more over, and that for me is all you can ever ask of an England cricketer.

“With him, he strains every sinew, gives every ounce of effort and he's just going to give it everything until he hangs up his boots. His sense of theatre, his sense of occasion, his sense of when to lift his game, and his sense of how to get great players out is second to none.”

Hussain also shared his thoughts on Broad’s dismissals of Labuschagne and Smith. He opined that the game was drifting away from England when Ben Stokes called the pacer back into the attack, adding that it was a measure of his class that he responded to the moment. The 55-year-old commented:

“You can see Broad cares about this, his ninth and possibly last Ashes series, as much if not more than his previous eight and his record against Australia is what he will be remembered for.

“Even at 36, he went away and worked behind the scenes to perfect the outswinger that did for Labuschagne and Smith in this fourth innings.

“And if you want to know how much Broad puts his body through, you should have seen his feet after the first innings. Shoeless, he walked towards me, his whole foot strapped, toenail falling off, blood seeping out of the bandages.”

Broad registered figures of 2/28 from nine overs on Day 4 to give England the edge in the Edgbaston Test.

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“Moeen Ali has a massive role to play” - Nasser Hussain

Looking ahead to the final day of the Test, Nasser Hussain reckons that off-spinner Moeen Ali still has a big role to play as Australia have a couple of left-handers left. He explained:

“They’ve still got a couple of left-handers to come in Travis Head and Alex Carey, and the way he [Moeen] troubled Cameron Green in the first innings - he should gave had him stumped second ball and bowled him through the gate - means this is still in the balance.

“He was clearly struggling with that wounded spinning finger in the evening session, as shown by the fact he was forced off the field after sending down a full toss and two drag downs in his sixth over.

“But England will need him and the rest of their attack to build on the inroads Broad made in the style only he can,” Hussain concluded.

Australia will resume Day 5 of the Edgbaston Test with Usman Khawaja unbeaten on 34 and nightwatchman Scott Boland on 13.