Anyone who watched last week’s documentary on Ian Botham will appreciate that, during the 1970s and 1980s, no fast bowler would have been seen dead without mutton chops and a soup-strainer moustache.  Fashions have changed, to the point where Stuart Broad - the young buck of today’s England attack - admits that he barely needs to shave.

Yet while Broad, 25, might resemble an overgrown sixth-form prefect, his performance at Lord’s revealed a flint-eyed toughness that even Dennis Lillee might have admired. “It was pleasing to come back into this Test series and do well,” said Broad of his match haul of seven wickets and 74 runs. “Because that was the first time I’d ever been doubted, or had a lot of critics. To be able to put that to the back of my mind and perform like I did gave me a lot of confidence because there are going to be times again when I am taking stick.

“It happens to every player. It was Alastair Cook’s turn last year, and Paul Collingwood’s the year before  it’s part and parcel of being an England cricketer. “But it’s certainly nice to be able to put those doubters to bed for a little while and get on with my cricket,” he added.