Stuart Broad will NOT tour Pakistan for England’s Test match series due to personal reasons

Stuart Broad will not tour Pakistan this winter after informing the selectors he is unavailable for personal reasons.

England are due to play three Tests in Pakistan in December but Broad, 36, and his partner Mollie King are expecting their first child in mid-November and The Mail on Sunday understands he has put family first.

The baby’s due date clashes with a training camp in Abu Dhabi, and missing that warm-up period — which includes a game between England and England Lions — would mean he would not be match-ready for a series that will be hosted in Rawalpindi, Multan and Karachi from December 1.

Stuart Broad will not tour Pakistan this winter as he is unavailable due to personal reasons

Broad is understood to have thought long and hard about his decision, not least because he enjoyed a resurgent summer with England in which he finished as the leading wicket-taker in a Test team that won six out of seven matches.

His 29-wicket haul took him to a career tally of 566, surpassing Australian great Glenn McGrath’s return, leaving him fifth in the all-time standings and second only to new-ball partner Jimmy Anderson among seamers.

The Nottinghamshire player hinted he was swaying towards withdrawing his name in The Mail on Sunday last month when he said there was a decision to be made, having prioritised his public job with England over his private life throughout a 15-year international career.

Broad, 36, and his partner Mollie King are expecting their first child in mid-November

The legendary England bowler is King’s fiance, after the pair got engaged in January 2021

 

The couple revealed they were expecting their first child together back in June this year

Although his final days in an England shirt will see that balance altered, he intends to have plenty of those left, with next spring’s two-Test tour of New Zealand and the 2023 Ashes very much on his radar.

And he was clearly confident of being picked for the Pakistan trip given his status and influence on a side that has changed its image and results drastically since beginning last summer on a woeful run of one win in 17.

Broad’s enthusiasm to remain an integral member of Ben Stokes’ team contrasts with his feelings just six months ago when his omission from the 1-0 series defeat in the Caribbean by an interim selection panel led to the bowler considering retirement.

Broad was revitalised during the summer for England under new England captain Ben Stokes

Broad has next spring’s two-Test tour of New Zealand and the 2023 Ashes on his radar

 However, the regime change under Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum reinvigorated the 159-cap veteran and he even excelled in his new role as first change when the recalled Ollie Robinson was thrown the new ball for the final two Tests of the summer.

But confirmation that Broad has followed Moeen Ali by ruling himself out will officially come next weekend when England name their squad to return to Pakistan.

Moeen reneged on his summer revelation that he had reversed his Test retirement after feeling uneasy about the prospect of being cooped up in hotels again, having spent three weeks with heavy security and restrictions on freedom while captaining England to a 4-3 Twenty20 win over the Pakistanis.

That trip thankfully passed without incident after the Pakistan Cricket Board invested £4.4million on VVIP-level protection for players on both sides in England’s first tour of the country since 2005.

Broad’s absence for the return visit coincides with the comeback of Mark Wood, who will add extreme pace to a bowling unit that will also include Anderson, Robinson, Matt Potts and potentially Reece Topley.