Stuart Broad emerged wide-eyed and blinking as he faced the press on Saturday evening after his England team, Twenty20 world champions and all that, had been taken apart by Sri Lanka.
Broad looked exactly like what he is: one of England’s youngest-ever captains, only a day past his 25th birthday, with barely any captaincy experience.
What could he say after a nine-wicket stuffing? At least he did not hide from the truth.
“We were thoroughly outplayed,” Broad said. “It was obviously a disappointing performance. With only 136 on the board, we knew we had to take early wickets but they did not give us a sniff.”
It was refreshing honesty. No attempts to “take positives” out of the defeat, no excuses and credit given to