With his blond hair and baby-faced good looks, Stuart Broad was already shaping up as the Next Big Thing of English cricket when he pushed his career into overdrive in a sensational spell of bowling in the fifth and decisive Ashes Test at The Oval in 2009. With the series in the balance, Broad claimed figures of 5 for 37 in 12 overs, including 4 for 8 in 21 balls, and after that there was no coming back for Australia.

He was struck by injury for the first time in the 2010-11 winter. Ruled out of the last three Ashes Tests, he broke down again during the World Cup. However, his significance in England's future was confirmed when he was named Twenty20 captain in May 2011.