Smarting from Ashes loss, Oz media paints Broad as 'cartoon villain'

The Australian media has kept up their attack on England bowler Stuart Broad by reportedly painting him as a cartoon villain, less than a week after England sealed a 3-0 Ashes win.

The fallout from Broad's confession that he had nicked the ball and still refused to walk in the Ashes opener at Trent Bridge led Australian coach Darren Lehmann to call him a 'cheat' and urged the Australian public to vent their ire by sending him home in tears from Australia during the return series.

Smarting from the 3-0 series loss, the Australian media picked up the cudgels and painted Broad as a man dressed in black performing to a backdrop of ominous piano music, comparing him to other English players who have attracted harsh criticism from Australian fans like legends John Snow and Douglas Jardine.

Meanwhile, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) had said that it hoped that the incidents will not provoke any further antagonism against Broad and his teammates and that player safety may be ensured.

England's first match on the tour of Australia is against Western Australia in Perth from October 31-November 2 with the first Test of the return Ashes series at the Gabba in Brisbane beginning on November 21, the report added.