Following Mohammed Siraj’s star turn in India’s remarkable six-run victory in the fifth Test against England at The Oval, England great Stuart Broad heaped praise on the pacer, stressing that his fast bowling skills and smarts must not be overshadowed by his fighting spirit.
“Couldn’t be more impressed with him. I think you have to be careful with cricketers like Mohammed Siraj where all you talk about is his heart, fight, spirit, drive. He is incredibly skillful,” Broad said on his YouTube channel, ‘For The Love of Cricket’. “You watch him set up batters. He tries a couple of away swingers, then he does the wobble seam back in to bring the stumps into play. He’s got brilliant players out throughout the series: Root, Pope, Stokes.”
Siraj ended with figures of 5/125 in the second innings after a relentless spell of over 30 overs. The 31-year-old was the only bowler from either side to have bowled in every single innings of the draining five-match series, one in which there was action on 25 of the 25 possible days. He ended the series as its highest wicket-taker with 23.
His second wind on Day 4 was vital to India’s fightback, and his three wickets on Monday dragged India to tie the five-match series 2-2.
Broad acknowledged how vital he proved to be. “His greatest strength is how much effort he puts in and how he always turns up. He grabs the ball, he wants to be in the action, he’s a bit of a showman,” he said, adding: “But don’t mistake passion for a lack of ability.”
“I was really worried that he would remember this Test match for the dropped catch (Siraj stepped onto the boundary line when he caught Harry Brook at a crucial moment on Day 4). I didn’t want that to be his last memory of this series… But he fittingly took the last wicket and he really deserved it,” Broad said.
