Stuart Broad says Joe Root punched him during Forest vs Sheff Utd playoff epic

Stuart Broad and Joe Root have spent years standing shoulder to shoulder as teammates, but they were very much on opposite sides during the Championship playoffs

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Key: Anderson and Broad back in England Test contention

Stuart Broad was able to enjoy the euphoria of Nottingham Forest making the Championship playoff final last week, despite taking a punch from his former England Test captain for his troubles.

Broad and Joe Root were sat next to each other for the second leg of Forest’s tie with Sheffield United at the City Ground. Given their respective affiliations to Nottinghamshire and Yorkshire in cricket, there’s no prizes for guessing who each were backing for Wembley.

Forest went into the tie leading 2-1 from the first leg at Bramall Lane, an advantage they extended when Brennan Johnson struck after 19 minutes. But early in the second half, Morgan Gibbs-White struck for the Blades, before John Fleck levelled the tie.

Root had already been briefed on curtailing his celebrations should United score, but Broad has revealed his former skipper still found a way to release his emotions. “Just after half time, 46th minute, [Forest] conceding, and Rooty punched me in the leg,” he told Sky Sports.

“I’d told him you’re not celebrating sat next to me, so he punched me in the leg in celebration when it went in.” It was Broad who had the last laugh though, as home keeper Brice Samba saved three penalties in the shootout to send his team to the final.

However, the three-time Ashes winner admitted he struggled with the tension of it all: “It created for amazing drama, but I was nervous in that second half going into extra time. To be honest I thought we’d lost the momentum and it was going to be hard to drag that back.”

When it got to spot kicks though, there was no more friendly rivalry with Root. The latter went and watched from the stairway to avoid being in the thick of it.

“There’s a lot of familiar faces in the City Ground who I’ve seen be quite calm all season,” he continued. “But you looked at the faces around you in that shootout and there was nerves, and stress, and excitement, and the sort of feelings that only sport give you.”

Broad, 35, was also full of praise for keeper Samba, hailing the “best performance” he’d seen him have in a Forest shirt: “I think the Forest fans will love him for ever for giving us that experience of going to Wembley.”

At least Broad and Root will be back on the same side this summer though, with the veteran bowler, who has 537 Test wickets, recalled to the England squad for the upcoming Test series against New Zealand. James Anderson, who like Broad was dropped for the tour of West Indies in March, is also selected.

It will be the first series in charge for new England coach Brendan McCullum, and the first as captain for Ben Stokes. The all-rounder replaced Root following the defeat in the Caribbean.

The opening Test with the Blackcaps begins on June 2 at Lord’s. Following that, the two sides meet in the second game at Trent Bridge on June 10.