The Ashes 2025: How Stuart Broad turned from wicket-taking villain to likeable media figure
He’s the only Englishman to enhance his reputation this summer – sadly (for England) he has a microphone in his hand, and not a new ball. But is Australia warming to Stuart Broad?
He’s the only Englishman to enhance his reputation this summer – sadly for England he has a microphone in his hand and not a new ball.
Former Test villain Stuart Broad walked on to the Gabba during the first Test for a television cross and was greeted by a smattering of warm applause.
When he walked back he was asked to pose for a selfie.
You wouldn’t call it a euphoric reception but compared to what he was used to this was like a standing ovation.
It’s a conspicuous contrast to the times he was booed onto the ground during Australian tours.
Broad had been an arch villain in Australia since 2013 when he edged Ashton Agar to slip off the gloves of Brad Haddin at Trent Bridge and refused to walk.
Say it quietly … the world is changing. The villain is morphing into a cult hero of sorts.
Broad has charmed audiences this summer with his cheeky, chatting, thoughtful and admirably forthright views for radio SEN and Channel 7.
The articulate Test fast man has switched to the media after finishing his 167 Test career which netted him 604 wickets at 27.
Many players take time to jump the fence and become firm and fair judges of their team-mates but Broad has made this quantum leap as evidenced when he grilled English coach Brendon McCullum about Jofra Archer’s drop-off in pace.
“Is there (a way) that the bowlers can pull a bit more out of themselves when the game’s on the line?” Broad asked on Channel 7.
McCullum snapped back with: “I used to have to have those conversations with you sometimes as well.’’
Chief SEN commentator Gerard Whateley believes Broad’s appeal stretches much further than the cricket field.
“The most predictable outcome was that he would be the star of the series as a villain but he ended up being someone we absolutely loved,’’ Whateley said.
“Because of the way he carries himself. He is so charismatic, so well spoken. So insightful. Everything we want in a travelling commentator, he is.
“He has not shied away from the questions around preparation and application even to the point of asking the tough question of Brendon McCullum the other night. That was an interesting exchange.
“He has a big future in the media, not just cricket media. With his look and his demeanour, he could be anything.
“He has great stories from his days playing at Hoppers Crossing (in Victoria) and why he barracks for the Western Bulldogs to the bluff of his outswinger in his last Ashes when he pretended he invented a ball and got inside their heads.’’
His facial expressions and sheer anger in the commentary box at England’s multiple failures this summer has been viral gold on social media, with video clips being shared more than the diabolical wickets themselves.
Among some of the endearing qualities Broad has shown in his time in Australia has been his humour towards some of the major flashpoint moments of his own career.
In a hilarious exchange with comedian Mick Molloy on The Front Bar, Broad reminisced about the summer where Australian fans chanted “Broad is a w...ker” so often the tune became stuck in his head so he mindlessly whistled it at lunch.
Broad revealed his time at Hoppers Crossing in his teens toughened him up for what was to come when he returned as an English Test bowler.
"Broad is a wanker!"
— The Front Bar (@thefrontbar7) December 1, 2025
You know the chant. Stuart Broad knows it well, too 😂#TheFrontBarpic.twitter.com/aQCi3qGOOQ
“When I talk about sledging and Ashes cricket, there is nothing more ferocious than a young English lad out of public school coming here. It was pretty brutal,” he joked.
“You’d get in the changerooms after (having a beer) and the person who had been calling you every name under the sun all day would be the first to next to you and I loved that and thought wow, what an amazing thing.”
Imagine being fined by your own father 😂#TheFrontBarpic.twitter.com/mFADKeM61Y
— The Front Bar (@thefrontbar7) November 26, 2025
In various podcasts he has reflected on the infamous stumpgate drama of 2023 and revealed his embarrassment now when he looks back at how he behaved and verbally abused anyone in a green hat when he came out to bat after replacing Jonny Bairstow at the crease - a victim of the red-mist with his on-field persona far different to his off-field manner.
Stuart Broad had a very interesting pre-series prediction.
— The Front Bar (@thefrontbar7) November 26, 2025
Not sure the boys were a big rap for it 😂#TheFrontBarpic.twitter.com/TQWZFTJSnb
But for as much as many Australian fans have commented how “likeable” they are finding Broad this summer, perhaps his best joke of the summer came two months ago with this expert prediction.
“It’s probably the worst Australian team since 2010 when England last won, and it’s the best English team since 2010,” Broad said on his BBC Podcast For The Love of Cricket hosted with Jos Buttler last October.
We’re still laughing at that joke now.
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Originally published as The Ashes 2025: How Stuart Broad turned from wicket-taking villain to likeable media figure
See the pics: England officially on the beers
