England seamer Stuart Broad considered retirement after being dropped from West Indies Test

34-year-old came back to play a crucial role in 2-1 series win for hosts

Stuart Broad of England celebrates after taking the wicket of Kraigg Brathwaite of West Indies for his 500th Test wicket during Day Five of the the Third Test at Old Trafford in Manchester on Tuesday. Getty

England's Stuart Broad celebrates taking his 500th Test wicket with teammates after dismissing West Indies' Kraigg Brathwaite. Reuters

England's Chris Woakes, left, and Stuart Broad walk off the field after their win on the fifth day of the third Test at Old Trafford in Manchester on Tuesday. AP

England's Stuart Broad celebrates taking the wicket of West Indies' Kraigg Brathwaves, his 500th Test wicket. AFP

England's Stuart Broad celebrates taking his 500th Test wicket with the scalp of West Indies' Kraigg Brathwaite. Reuters

West Indies' Roston Chase, left, is run out by England's Dom Bess during day five of the Third Test at Emirates Old Trafford. PA

England's Chris Woakes, second left, celebrates with team mates after taking the wicket of West Indies' Rahkeem Cornwall. AFP

England's Chris Woakes celebrates taking the wicket of West Indies' Rahkeem Cornwall. AFP

England's Chris Woakes, right, watches teammate Stuart Broad taking the catch to dismiss West Indies' Shai Hope. AP

West Indies' Jason Holder bats during day five of the Third Test at Emirates Old Trafford. PA

West Indies' Jermaine Blackwood, left, and Rahkeem Cornwall. AFP

England seamer Stuart Broad has revealed he was "so down" after being dropped for the first Test match against the West Indies that he considered retirement.

Broad, 34, who said he is bowling as well as ever, returned to the side for the second and third Tests and played a key role as England rallied to win the series 2-1.

"Were there thoughts of retirement going round my head? One hundred per cent. Because I was so down," Broad told the Mail on Sunday.

"I was expecting to play, which is always a bit of a dangerous thing in sport but I felt I deserved to play."

Broad explained that the coronavirus restrictions placed on all the players during the Test series did not help as he tried to come to terms with being dropped for the first Test in Southampton.

"I have not really told anyone this but I was so down that week of the first Test," he said. "I was really low. I was stuck in that hotel. I couldn't go anywhere.

"I wasn't playing, I was staying in a single room. I didn't sleep for two days. I was nowhere. A different decision could definitely have been made with my emotions of how I was feeling."

Broad said his family had played a crucial role in helping him through the period, as had England skipper Ben Stokes.

"Stokesy was brilliant," Broad added. "Stokesy knocked on my door on the Thursday night and stayed in the corridor to talk to me. He said: 'This isn't about cricket, but how are you, mate?' That was very impressive for him to do.

"In this modern world, sometimes face-to-face comfort can get lost. I have always had a huge amount of respect for Stokes and I will be friends with him for life, but what he did almost added to that."

The 34-year-old, who became the seventh player in history to take 500 Test wickets in the third Test, insists he is a better player now than he was 10 years ago and that age should be no barrier.

"I might have been more exciting when I was 24 or have been more unpredictable so a bit more interesting to watch, but there is no doubt that a captain would rather have me bowling for him now than when I was 24," he said.

"I have seen a lot of numbers over the past week since I took my 500th wicket. The last 18 months, I have been averaging 20.5 per wicket in Test cricket.

"Take age out of that. If anyone were doing that at any age, you would want to keep them around the team for a bit and not look past it."