'To see Stuart come through for England has been absolutely unbelievable'

LONDON, ENGLAND - JULY 30: Stuart Broad of England walks out to bat in his last test match, after announcing his retirement from cricket yesterday prior to Day Four of the LV= Insurance Ashes 5th Test Match between England and Australia at The Kia Oval on July 30, 2023 in London, England. (Photo by Gareth Copley/Getty Images)

Geoff Goodson, a former player who was chair for 40 years, told the Melton Times: “To see him come through has been absolutely unbelievable.

"He came to us as a nine-year-old and he started playing more seriously aged 11 or 12 in a junior team and soon was playing in our second team on Saturdays and friendlies on Sundays when he was about 14.

"You could see the potential and the dedication but you need more than that.”

Ironically, Geoff credits Australia with turning him from a specialist batsman into an all rounder.

Stuart went to play for Hopper’s Crossing in Melbourne, through a link with the Egerton Park club.

“He grew a lot when he was in Australia and they got him bowling on the hard, fast wickets and he came back a very useful bowler as well as a good batsman,” recalled Geoff.

John Bailey captained Stuart and a team of young players in Park’s second team.

Stuart Broad pictured a few years ago at the launch of his family's Broad Appeal with former Egerton Park CC chair, Geoff Goodson (let), and late former chair, David Glover

He recalled: “When Stuart was bowling he shuffled his feet and then he ran. We tried to get him just to walk up and bowl.

“To us, he was a batsman. Then he grew and became a classic bowler.”

John added: “When we’ve seen him out there for England it’s been totally amazing – it doesn’t seem like five minutes ago since he was playing for us at Egerton Park.”