'Slap In The Face': Stuart Broad's Stunning Take On Yuvraj Singh's 6 Sixes In One Over

India star Yuvraj Singh smashing England pacer Stuart Broad for six sixes in a single over during the T20 World Cup 2007 is one of the most iconic moments in cricket history. Broad - then only 21 - was at the receiving end of one of the most breathtaking bits of batting in T20 cricket. However, Broad recently revealed that the incident was a "slap in the face" and helped shape his career for the better, which ultimately led to him retiring as England's second-highest Test wicket-taker of all time with 604.

"At that stage, I've only played seven or eight ODIs, haven't played a Test by then. I've got the long blond hair, thinking I've got a bit going on here. And then smacked in the face, as hard as you go," Broad reflected, speaking on Matthew Hayden's 'All Over Bar The Cricket' podcast.

Broad stated that Yuvraj's onslaught on him came as an instant alarm that he needed to improve.

"I think how the rhythm of sport goes, you start off really well and then by 26-27, you think you've made it and stop doing things with real dedication. You just drop off a bit, your firm's not as good, maybe you get dropped. Then you come back at 31 when the penny has dropped, and you boss the next five years.

"For me, that slap in the face came at 20-21, so I didn't waste five years going, 'I need to get better, I need to learn this delivery'. I built this structure around my game called 'warrior mode' that connected everything around preparation to get it right," Broad revealed.

"By the time I was actually 25-26, I was where I wanted to be as an elite performer. I knew when I bowled crap, when my body language was bad, how to get it back," he added.

Broad suggested that he may not have had the distinguished career he went on to have had he not suffered the setback against Yuvraj in Durban.

"Of course, I wish it didn't happen. But then I look back and think maybe if it didn't happen, I would have floated around for five years thinking I'm pretty cool, and not had the career that I have had," he stated.

Broad is England's second-highest wicket-taker of all time in Tests and across all formats, having scalped 604 Test wickets in 167 games, and 847 international wickets in 344 matches.

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Stuart Broad Yuvraj Singh England Cricket Team India Cricket Team Cricket