Veteran England seamer Stuart Broad reacted hilariously to an Australian publication branding Ollie Robinson as the 'No.1 villain' following his sledging incident with Usman Khawaja in the first Ashes Test at Edgbaston. Broad expressed his surprise at losing the tag which he held for a long time among the Australians.
Broad was given the moniker, especially after refusing to walk off during the first Ashes Test of 2013 in Cardiff. The 36-year-old had nicked one to the slip off Ashton Agar's bowling while batting on 37, but did not walk off. The umpires also ruled it not out, but then Australia's head coach Darren Lehmann called Broad 'a blatant cheat'. When England returned to Australia later that year to defend their urn, the Gabba crowd booed him to no end.
However, Robinson has emerged as a negative character for Australia after a fiery send-off to Usman Khawaja in the first innings at Edgbaston. The right-arm seamer could be heard yelling on the stump mic, "fu***ng p***k" as the left-hander was walking off the ground for 141 runs. According to media reports, the officials considered his send-off as 'borderline' and has escaped with a warning.
Stuart Broad's efforts go in vain as England concede a 1-0 lead:
Meanwhile, Broad bowled magnificently in both innings at Edgbaston, but Australia romped home by two wickets in the end. The Nottinghamshire seamer dismissed Marnus Labuschagne twice, including once for a golden duck in the first innings. He claimed David Warner for the 15th time in Test cricket and removed Steve Smith in the second innings as well.
In all, Broad took six wickets in the game; however, Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon held their nerve to take Australia home. When Cummins came to bat, the tourists still needed 72 to win, but he struck 44 out of them and took Australia to their target of 281 runs. Khawaja, who struck 141 and 65 in the match, earned the Player of the Match award.
