‘I was told to be lenient to India…Ganguly didn’t listen’: Stuart Broad’s father slams ICC, recalls politics during time as match-referee

“I was very happy to carry on,” Broad told in an interview with The Telegraph. “But for 20 years, I dodged a lot of bullets, both politically and physically. I look back and I think, ‘you know, 20 years is quite a long time to be doing that job’. I’m pleased not to be travelling to certain parts of the world. And I was always someone who believed in right and wrong and in certain parts of the world it’s a bit like the River Ganges – right and wrong are so far apart and there’s a lot of dirty water in between them that you have to deal with, so I think as someone who comes from a right and wrong perspective, to last 20 years in that politically active environment is a pretty good effort.

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Broad recalled the world cricket body pressurising him into “finding time” to support India’s over-rate offences. He, however, did not specify the details of the exact match of the incident.

Ganguly didn’t listen..’

“India were three, four overs down at the end of a game so it constituted a fine. I got a phone call saying, ‘be lenient, find some time because it’s India’. And it’s like, right, OK. So we had to find some time, brought it down below the threshold. The very next game, exactly the same thing happened. He [Sourav Ganguly] didn’t listen to any of the hurry-ups and so I phoned and said, ‘what do you want me to do now?’ and I was told ‘just do him’. So there were politics involved, right from the start. A lot of the guys now are either politically more savvy or just keeping the head below the parapet. I don’t know.”

Broad’s extensive career as a match referee ended with a Test in February 2024 in Colombo. He oversaw 622 international games across formats, the third-most by any match referee in history. Broad, who played over 50 international matches for England and recorded seven centuries, also claimed that the ICC’s integrity has eroded over the years, with India enjoying the power positions. Headquartered in Dubai, the world body is currently headed by former BCCI secretary, Jay Shah.

“I think we were supported by Vince van der Bijl (ICC umpires manager) while he was in position because he came from a cricketing background but, once he left, the management became a lot weaker. India got all the money and have now taken over the ICC so in many ways. I’m pleased I’m not around because it’s a much more political position now than it ever has been.”

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