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There was not the passionate Big Brother-style response this time, but Stuart Broad had every right to be equally miffed by England's decision to leave him out of the first Test.
Instead of launching an angry but measured attack on the selectors in Sky's pandemic 'diary room', as he did when dropped for the first Test against West Indies at the Ageas Bowl last year, Broad chose his words carefully in Brisbane in his Mail on Sunday column.
'It would be wrong in this scenario to kick up a stink,' wrote Broad, pointing out the 'shirt' was not his to lose after missing the last three Tests against India last summer with a calf injury. 'On the flip side, I love bowling at the Gabba and feel like I could've had a positive impact on a pitch like that.'
Stuart Broad had every right to be miffed by the decision to leave him out of the first Test
Broad chose his words carefully this time, rather than the angry but measured attack on the selectors last year (above)
His restraint was commendable. As own goals go, this one was right up there. Not only has Broad got an excellent record in Brisbane, the city where the local paper refused to print his name during the 2013-14 Ashes because of a laughable row over non-walking, but Australia's top order was full of left-handers and he dismissed one of them, David Warner, for fun during the 2019 Ashes.
With Jimmy Anderson missing, too, Broad's omission was a mistake typical of the muddled thinking that continues to haunt England.
It is one they are unlikely to repeat. Broad will surely play at Adelaide and how England hope he can produce the same riposte as when he went on to take 29 wickets
