Stuart Broad names his picks for best teammate and best opponent

Broad praised Stokes for his impact both with the bat and ball and said that although he had three or four choices when it came to teammates, Stokes trumped them because of his game.

Former England fast bowler Stuart Broad picked Ben Stokes as the best player he has played with and Australia batsman Steve Smith as his toughest opponent. Broad praised Stokes for his impact both with the bat and ball and said that although he had three or four choices when it came to teammates, Stokes trumped them because of his game. For Smith, the fast bowler said that he is yet to figure out the right way to bowl to him and praised him for having a huge hunger for big scores.

Stuart Broad in action. (REUTERS)

“I feel very lucky to have the option to name a few here but, if I thought about three or four, I might get to between 10-15. So, being brutally strict, I would have to say Ben Stokes is the best I have played with, for the positive impact he can have on games with bat, ball and in the field,” Broad said in an interview with Daily Mail.

“As for against? I have yet to figure out the best way to bowl at Steve Smith. He makes life tough for bowlers and has a huge hunger for big scores,” he added.

Both Smith and Stokes starred for their respective teams in the Ashes 2019. Smith, who was playing his first Test series after serving one-year ban for his part in the Cape Town ball-tampering scandal, smashed a whopping 774 runs in the series as Australia retained the Ashes.

Stokes, meanwhile, was the highest run scorer for England with 441 and famously scored an unbeaten 135 in Headingley Test which included a whirlwind 76-run stand for the last wicket with Jack Leach. The latter only contributed one run in the partnership and England won the Test by one wicket.

(With agency inputs)