Legendary former England quick Stuart Broad has reportedly signed up for a consultancy role with South Africa ahead of their World Test Championship final against Australia.
Report: Stuart Broad to help South Africa for WTC final
According to a report by The Telegraph, Broad is set to join the South Africa coaching staff as a consultant for the World Test Championship final against Australia that begins on June 11.
This would mark Broad's first foray into coaching since retiring from international cricket after the 2023 Ashes. He has been working in the media since. The report states that his media commitments during the WTC final will mean that he won't be in the South Africa dressing room for the match, but is set to help the team out with training and planning ahead of the game.
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The final will be played at Lord's, where Broad has taken 113 wickets from 28 matches at an average of 27.66. Muttiah Muralidaran at SSC, Colombo (166), James Anderson at Lord's (123), and Muralidaran at Asgiriya Stadium, Kandy (117) are the only three instances of a bowler taking more wickets at a particular venue in Test cricket.
South Africa's fast-bowling arsenal consists of Kagiso Rabada, Marco Jansen, Lungi Ngidi, Corbin Bosch, Dane Paterson, and Wiaan Mulder. While Rabada and Jansen are certainties to lead the attack, South Africa have a few decisions to make regarding the rest of their fast-bowling lineup.
Bosch has played only one Test but impressed with five wickets and an unbeaten 81 from No.9. Paterson has taken 21 wickets from five Tests since his comeback last year, while Ngidi is the most experienced Test seamer among the three with 19 caps and 55 wickets to his name.
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This will be South Africa's first appearance in a World Test Championship final, while Australia are the defending champions, having beaten India in the final at The Oval in 2023.
South Africa last played a Test series in England in 2022, which they lost 1-2 after winning the first game at Lord's. In fact, South Africa have more than a decent record at Lord's, having lost only one Test match out of eight in the last 65 years at the venue.
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