Stuart Broad ready for another Ashes tour after thriving in South Africa

For England everything, even on the eve of this final Test against South Africa, is viewed through the prism of the next Ashes series. So the question for Stuart Broad is an obvious one.

“Would I like to be part of another Ashes series in Australia?” he says. “Absolutely. But I’m not someone who looks that far ahead. It can be a long way. It feels an age since I changed my run-up [in Sri Lanka last winter], but realistically it was only a year ago. So what’s that, another 18 months away? You don’t know.

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“I feel confident at the minute, I feel great, I feel physically good. All my fitness tests have gone in the right direction, which at 33 can be something that can fall away. I feel in a really good place, I feel confident and more importantly, going 2-1 up to the Wanderers, I’m buzzing to get out there, which is always a good place to be.”

With 22 months between now and the first Ashes Test in Brisbane, victory in this series would feel like a significant step forward for this England team, who have won the past two Tests at Cape Town and Port Elizabeth with an XI that has included four players under the age of 23.

So, where are this group of players, led by the new coach Chris Silverwood and the captain Joe Root, leading up the biggest challenge of them all in Australia in 2021-22?

“Chris Silverwood and his crew have come in quite deliberately talking about changing the mindset, particularly in the batting,” Broad says. “Trying to consistently score bigger runs. Because you only have to look at what Australia do in Australia – they don’t miss, do they? They score 400 every time. It’s remarkable.

“So build a team that you feel like can go there and do that. It’s a mentality thing. We’ve always had the talent to do it but set that as a target and set ways of how we’re going to go about it. You’d argue there are signs of that coming through already, which shows it’s a mindset thing rather than a technical thing.”

Broad will turn 34 in June yet he is arguably bowling as well as he ever has, even if the momentum-changing hauls are rare these days. It is his control and ability to pick apart certain batsmen – witness him tormenting Australia’s David Warner, dismissing him seven times last summer – that is his biggest asset now.

Broad is inspired, too, by the example set by Jimmy Anderson, who has taken 126 Test wickets at 21.72 since turning 34. “Jimmy’s been an inspiration from 33 to now, how he’s gone about his business,” he says. “He’s become a better bowler. I look at him and go: ‘Why not me, why not?’ His experience came together with all his know-how and he’s been able to deliver consistently.”

While most of the attention during this series has been taken by bowlers such as Mark Wood and Jofra Archer, Broad has quietly picked up 12 South African wickets at 18.25.

He is likely to have less success on England’s next tour, of Sri Lanka in March, namely because Broad is likely to be rested for that two-Test series in spin-friendly conditions. It is a situation he is entirely comfortable with.

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“The pitches last time were a waste of time bowling seam, so I don’t know if I’m going to be in that touring party,” he says. “If my next Test match is June I’m perfectly fine with that. Potentially, if it’s in Sri Lanka and the conditions don’t suit I’m very happy not to be in it because you give England the best chance of winning the game.”

As for the here and now, Broad is excited about returning to a venue where four years ago his second-innings haul of six for 17 helped seal the series for England.

“I’ve just watched that spell back this morning and it was probably less impressive than it felt,” he says. “It wasn’t as if I was swinging it around corners. I think the theatre around the spell was exciting. If you can create theatre as a fast bowler a lot of the time things will work for you as the pressure builds on a team. I felt there was theatre that day.”

England will be hoping Broad can produce more theatrics over the coming days to inspire them to another series win.