Stuart Broad reveals Mohammed Siraj’s hilarious nickname among England cricketers | Cricket News
Former England pacer Stuart Broad has showered praise on Mohammed Siraj, who finished as the leading wicket-taker in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy. Siraj ended the series with 22 wickets, including a Player of the Match performance at The Oval in the fifth Test, which India won by six runs.“Couldn’t be more impressed with him,” Broad told Jos Buttler on their podcast For the Love Of Cricket.
“If I’m honest, I think you have to be careful with cricketers like Mohammed Siraj, where all you talk about is heart, fire, spirit, and drive. He’s incredibly skilful. You watch him set up batters — he tries a couple of away swingers, not necessarily looking to get them out. Then he bowls the wobble seam that comes back in to bring the stumps into play.“He’s got brilliant players out throughout the series — Root, Pope, Stokes (a first-ball duck at Edgbaston). One of his greatest strengths is the amount of effort he puts in and how he always turns up. He grabs the ball, wants to be in the action — a bit of a showman,” Broad added.Broad also revealed the nickname England cricketers have given Siraj.“I was on the pitch on Day 2, when Ben Duckett was just going through his batting drills and Siraj was doing a few mental bowling routines. Duckett said, ‘Morning, Mr Angry. How are you doing, Mr Angry?’ — smiling.“And Siraj had a big smile on his face. So the England players were calling him ‘Mr Angry’ because he’s just so in the battle the whole time.“But don’t mistake his passion and heart for a lack of ability, because he sets up batters beautifully. He bowls a length that nips back, brings the stumps into play, and you can’t get forward to it. I thought he took the final wicket — Gus Atkinson — with a brilliant off-stump yorker.”Broad also expressed relief that Siraj wouldn’t be remembered for a dropped catch earlier in the Test.“I was really worried that he would remember this Test match for that dropped catch because he deserved so much more in this series.“He was the leading wicket-taker, played all five Tests in a series that was brutal for bowlers. He had a mishap — he was actually off the field for about five overs, changing his shirt, refreshing himself — and then came back on.“Harry Brook top-edged it straight to him at fine leg. He just didn’t quite know where he was, didn’t have his bearings, and caught it while strolling the rope. The guy in the blue shirt behind him went berserk.
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“I didn’t want that to be his last memory of this Test series. But he came in the next morning, swung it around, bowled beautifully once again, and fittingly took the last wicket to draw the series for India. He really, really deserved it.”Broad also touched on Siraj’s now-viral celebration and motivation.“The atmosphere was brilliant. He did a Cristiano Ronaldo-style celebration. He has Ronaldo as his mobile wallpaper with the word ‘Believe’.“That’s his motivation — what drives him forward. I’m thrilled that he was able to do what he did, because he deserves it. And you know what? He deserves to fly to a beach, slip on some flip-flops, grab a pina colada, and lie there for a few weeks.”
