Stuart Broad sat in the commentary box with his head in his hands as he watched England’s collapse against Australia in the first Ashes Test.
England were stunned in Perth when Travis Head’s incredible 69-ball century – the second-fastest in Ashes history – completed Australia’s eight-wicket victory to go 1-0 up in the series.
Broad, who retired two years ago, was on commentary for Australian broadcaster Seven when England’s middle order fell apart for him on the second day.
Joe Root scored just eight runs before being bowled by Mitchell Starc, leaving England with a lead that quickly deteriorated.
Former Australian opener Matthew Hayden sat next to Broad in the commentary box and sensed England’s collapse.
“Stuart Broad, stay in the commentary box, you’re taking wickets galore,” Hayden said over the cheers of the Australian crowd after Root’s dismissal.
Hayden then added, “5/76, can you believe it? Australia, I told you they weren’t going anywhere. This is the stuff, it’s hard, it’s nails, it’s now and it’s happening in front of you.”
In his analysis after England’s defeat, Root called it one of Australia’s best wins in their history.
‘Travis Head truly played one of the greatest Ashes innings of all time. England had no answers. That is a powerful win,” Root said.
“It’s one of those Test matches where you look through the Australian line-up and for years to come they’ll say it’s one of the biggest wins they’ve ever had.
“Lunch time today, they were almost gone. England were well ahead in this match, and they showed incredible competitive spirit and skill to just get themselves back into the game, but to win by eight wickets.”
Meanwhile, England captain Ben Stokes admitted he and his teammates were stunned by Australia’s comeback.
“We’re a little shocked,” Stokes said
“That Travis Head innings was pretty phenomenal. It’s pretty raw, pretty fresh at this point, but that was a bit of a swallow. It took the wind out of our sails.’
England coach Brendon McCullum also praised Head for his ‘extraordinary’ performance.
“I thought 200 was a pretty good score for us to try and defend in the last innings,” McCullum said.
“The way Travis Head played was absolutely outstanding. That’s one of the best knocks in a pressure situation on a heavy wicket. He knocked us off our height when we wanted to hold our height as long as possible, and we thought that was the most dangerous thing on the field. We couldn’t do that because of the pressure they put on us, so fair play.
‘It was an extraordinary blow. We have always said that if someone stands up to us and achieves such a feat, you should take your hat off.
‘We will look at how we can keep things under better control if that happens again. At the same time, you have to recognize how special that blow was, especially out of position. It was a courageous call to give him the assignment. He smashed it in every part.
“This one will hurt us. Not just us, but also the people who follow the England cricket team. There will be a lot of talking and for us it’s about making sure our confidence and camaraderie doesn’t get too low. We know that at our best we are a good cricket team.
“We have a longer time off and we have ten to twelve days to come back. We’ve done it before. We will believe in what we want to achieve in Brisbane.”
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