Stuart Broad: England ‘unrecognisable’ in Test revival worthy of documentary

Stuart Broad has described the England setup as “completely unrecognisable” under Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum, and the bowler believes a trick has been missed by not making a fly-on-the wall documentary about the team’s startling resurgence.

The 36-year-old is among those to have been reinvigorated over the past 12 months, something which played out in the middle on the third evening of the first Test at Bay Oval when his four-wicket surge laid waste to New Zealand’s top order.

Broad even allowed himself to picture transferring this upturn in form to the summer’s Ashes campaign – a rare break from the team’s mantra of staying in the present – and hailed the deepest squad England have had since the No 1-ranked 2011 side.

“It’s completely unrecognisable,” said Broad. “It’s a bit of a shame there’s not a fly-on-the-wall documentary on it, because it’s amazing to be part of. I’m so lucky to see it first hand. Honestly, since June, I can’t remember a negative word in the dressing room. It’s phenomenal to watch how Baz and Stokesy go about their business.

“As players [the Ashes] is hard to ignore. We’ve got a group of bowlers and for the first time since [Andrew] Strauss retired in 2012, we’ve got batters who should be in the team who aren’t – Jonny Bairstow is out injured at the moment.

“Of course I want to play five, four, three [Ashes Tests],” Broad added. “I know within myself I’ve got a good record in Ashes cricket and even if I have a positive effect on one Test match and we win the Ashes as an England team, that’s a great drive for me.

“Baz’s communication lines are really good and my mindset’s really clear – I can’t control whether I play or not but I can control whether I’m fit, fresh, in rhythm and hungry. And my