“I’ve got to unpack from Australia and then pack again at some stage,” he says. “If it wasn’t the last minute, I wouldn’t get anything done anyway.”
Welcome to the life of an England cricketer in 2011. Three days at home – which Broad has selflessly spent with his father Chris and sister Gemma promoting their new motor neurone charity, The Broad Appeal – then back on the treadmill.
England embark on a transcontinental trek that could potentially take them 6,500 miles, to nine cities, in three countries, in seven weeks.
At the best of times, that is a lot of minibuses and airport baggage carousels. Coming so soon after an exhausting Ashes tour, it verges, like many of England’s players, on madness.
“I don’t know what time I’m on, to be honest,” Broad said. “I’m quite a good sleeper, so jet lag doesn’t affect me too much. I just sleep all through the day. It’s a pretty hectic schedule that we’ve been through over the past six months, but I’m excited about going to the World Cup. Everyone is.”
Towards the end of the one-day series in Australia, as the injuries began to pile up, an unusually outspoken Andy Flower made clear his disapproval of the schedule. While the adrenalin generated by a World Cup campaign may power England’s players through the first couple of weeks, if things start going against them, they will almost inevitably begin to feel those tired limbs.
In an ideal world, Broad admits, the squad would have been better rested.
“But the schedule’s the way it is. It is very hectic, but that’s part and parcel of being an international cricketer. You’ve just got to crack on and make sure we’re as refreshed as possible.”
Besides, Broad can hardly cry fatigue, given that he will be staying in India for another six weeks after the tournament to play in the IPL.
Of more pressing concern is Broad’s recovery from the abdominal injury that cut short his Ashes series. Despite flying out to Australia to join the one-day squad for the end of the series, he has not played since the Adelaide Test, and not played a one-day game since September. England’s two warm-up games in Fatullah will therefore be crucial in getting him match fit.
“I feel 100 per cent,” he said. “It’s been a bit of a long road back, but I’m feeling strong, feeling good, and hoping to play a full part.”
England’s chances of winning their first World Cup will depend on key players such as Broad lasting the course. The Homeric schedule, though, will not help them. “The only World Cup I’ve been involved in on a full scale was the World Twenty20,” Broad said. “That went fantastically well. The games are packed in and there seemed to be a great balance. The 50-over one does go on for a long time, but as players we just play the cards we’re dealt.”
None the less, Broad believed England could upset the odds and win the tournament. “With the sort of cricket we know we can play, we’ve got a good chance,” he said.
So, can England repeat their success in the Caribbean last year? To borrow the words of Fred Trueman: aye, but whoever does it will be ------ tired.
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