Stuart Broad: There’s times when I’ve felt the ball about to hit my face in the middle of the night

STUART Broad is seeing a psychologist to help cope with the troubling aftermath of a vicious blow to the face last year.

MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - AUGUST 09: England batsman Stuart Broad receives treatment after being hit by a ball through the grill of his helmet from Varun Aaron, sustaining an injury to his nose during day three of the 4th Investec Test match between England and India at Old Trafford on August 9, 2014 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)

STUART Broad has opened up about the troubling aftermath of having his nose broken by a Varun Aaron bouncer at Old Trafford last year.

Just three months before Phil Hughes’ death in Sydney, the English bowler was struck in the face while attempting to pull Aaron in a Test match.

Broad says he’s felt fine at the crease since returning to play but still has visions of the ball hitting his face while he’s sleeping.

“I felt fine going out to bat. Nervous but fine,” Broad told espncricinfo.com. “But having four months off I have had nightmares about it. I have had times when I have felt the ball just about to hit my face in the middle of the night. It has been quite tough.

Broad is surrounded by Indian players while the ball still sits in the grill of his helmet.

“I am working with the sports psychologist to try and focus the mind on other things. After my operation, I don’t know if the drugs had anything to do with it, but I would wake up feeling like a ball had hit me in the face, which is a bit strange. It is a weird thing to see that ball thinking you are about to hit it. I still have that picture in my mind and I can remember it clearly. It is a weird situation.”

In a wide-ranging interview, Broad also took aim at incoming ECB chairman Colin Graves for his distracting comments about Kevin Pietersen.

Graves has left the door open for Pietersen — who was sacked after the 2014 Ashes whitewash — to return to the national team.

“To be honest, being with this group we have had a tough last week, this is a huge two-week period for us in this World Cup and the last thing this group needs is a KP media storm popping up again,” Broad said.

“I can’t be bothered with it because we have to genuinely get tight as a group and push towards this Bangladesh game and win it. It is surprising it has raised its head again.

“For our group it is poor timing. We don’t need that distraction. We’ve got better things to be focusing on.”

Broad has taken just two wickets in four World Cup matches.

England is on the brink of elimination in the World Cup but can secure a place in the quarter-finals by winning its final two matches against Bangladesh (Monday, March 9) and Afghanistan (Friday, March 13).

Originally published as Stuart Broad: There’s times when I’ve felt the ball about to hit my face in the middle of the night