The Ashes, one of the most heated and iconic rivalries in the history of world cricket is all set to begin after the conclusion of the WTC 2023 Finals. England and Australia will take on each other in this iconic five Test match series startinng from June 16, 2023. Just like every Ashes series mind games have begun between the players of both the teams and now it’s Australian left-arm fast bowler Mitchell Starc who has taken a subtle dig at England veteran pacer Stuart Broad. 

Australia was the host of the last Ashes series between both teams and it was majorly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic as many of the main key players missed the last few Tests due to quarantine. England pacer Stuart Broad had said in an interview to ‘The Daily Mail’ that he didn’t consider that series as the real ‘Ashes’ and it was a void series for him. 

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‘Nothing was harsher than the last Ashes series’: Stuart Broad 

“Nothing was harsher than the last Ashes series. But in my mind, I don’t class that as a real Ashes. The definition of Ashes cricket is elite sport with lots of passion and players at the top of their game”, Stuart Broad said. 

“Nothing about that series was high-level performance because of the Covid restrictions. The training facilities, the travel, not being able to socialise. I’ve written it off as a void series”, Stuart Broad added. 

Now Australia fast bowler Mitchell Starc has taken a dig at Stuart Broad’s claims and believes that the England players received most of the luxuries during the series that other visiting teams were not provided with.

“The funniest thing out of that was they called it quarantine on the Gold Coast, I did seven of them. That was the easiest by a country mile. The Poms had the pool, the gym, they were in a resort on the Gold Coast, they trained at Metricon (now Heritage Bank Stadium), weren’t confined to their rooms and had their families there”, Mitchell Starc said to Australian newspaper ‘The Sydney Morning Herald’. 

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‘It was a pretty good series’: Mitchell Starc

“Was that really quarantine? They were still allowed to play golf on tour. Is that an excuse for 4-0? Dunno. It was a pretty good series to be a part of”, Mitchell Starc added. 

Mitchell Starc has been one of the key strike bowlers for the Australian side in the few years and has rattled many big names in world cricket with his pace. England fast bowler Stuart Broad has been part of the longest format for almost more than a decade and he along with partner James Anderson has more than 1000 wickets in Test cricket.