[3] A right-arm seam bowler and left-handed batsman, Broad began his professional career at Leicestershire; in 2008 he transferred to Nottinghamshire, the county of his birth and the team for which his father played.

[15] Broad finished his school career with three B grades at A-level, and was given the choice of a place at Durham University or a contract with Leicestershire County Cricket Club.

[15] Broad had been associated with Leicestershire since he was 8 years old, having represented them at Under-9 level, and played for Melton Mowbray club Egerton Park, which also produced England seamer Tim Munton.

Broad played for Egerton Park from the ages of 9 to 19; in his final two seasons he opened the batting with fellow Leicestershire player Matthew Boyce and spearheaded the attack.

[17] On 23 August 2007 it was announced that Broad would be leaving Leicestershire at the end of the season to join Nottinghamshire, after choosing not to renew his contract and to return to his home county.

[19] Broad was a part of the Nottinghamshire side that beat Surrey in the final of the Royal London One Day Cup in 2017 played at Lords.

Broad bowled four overs for 35 runs, and took two wickets in two balls, Shoaib Malik and Younis Khan, and narrowly missed out on a hat-trick, after a lofted shot from Shahid Afridi fell just short of Kevin Pietersen.

[32] This resulted in Broad making his Test debut against Sri Lanka; in a high scoring game, he took a single wicket, conceding 95 runs in the process as the match ended in a draw.

[33] During the tour of New Zealand in 2008, Broad, along with Alastair Cook and James Anderson, posed naked for the Cosmopolitan paper with just a cricket bat for cover.

On 6 June 2008, Broad scored his maiden Test fifty, against New Zealand at Trent Bridge, making 64 before being bowled by Chris Martin.

His performances with the bat at the time led pundits to suggest that he may become a genuine all rounder, with Geoffrey Boycott comparing him to Garfield Sobers: "He's a wonderful player.

In the adjacent Test series, in which the home side fairly routed its opponents, Broad's wickets came at an average of just eighteen – "further evidence," reckoned journalist Nick Hoult, "of the top class international cricketer that lurks within.

He scored a 22-ball 19 in England's first-innings total of 435, but in 32 overs he took just one wicket (that of Michael Clarke, caught behind for 83) as Australia amassed 674 for 6 declared, with four centurions.

In the second test Broad showed good form with the ball with 2–44 in the first innings but then taking 4–43 in the second dismissing Jacques Kallis, AB de Villiers and JP Duminy all within 3 overs.

However, an injury before the Test series meant that he wasn't fully fit and was outbowled by Tim Bresnan and debutant Steven Finn.

[46] It was his first century in all forms of cricket since an under-19's match for Leicestershire and saw his name go on the Lord's batting honours board, a feat that his father never achieved.

[47][48] In the first Test at the Gabba, Brisbane, he fell for a golden duck in England's innings, the final victim of Peter Siddle's hat-trick.

[53] However, Broad was named in the side for the first Test at Lord's and ended with match figures of 7–94, as well as scoring an unbeaten 74 in the second innings, as England won by 196 runs.

Broad made a lesser impact in the fourth Test, taking two wickets in each of India's innings, and did not bat, due to an early declaration.

On the fifth day of the 3rd Test against New Zealand, Broad set a new record for the longest time spent at the crease without scoring a run, with 103 minutes out in the middle, facing 62 balls.

Although neither the rules nor common practice required Broad to walk, he drew heavy criticism from many observers who thought his edge was too thick to have reasonably stood his ground.

[69] In the fourth Test, at the Riverside Ground in Chester-le-Street, Broad took eleven wickets with two five-wicket hauls and was named man of the match as England ensured a series win.

[70] In the first innings, he took 5–71, including a spell of 3–12 in the morning session of day 2 where he removed David Warner, Usman Khawaja and Clarke to reduce Australia to 49–3.

[71][72] In their second innings, chasing 299 to win, Australia had made 174–3 when Broad took the wicket Clarke for the fifth time in the series, with the first delivery after a drinks break.

Despite being an injury doubt, he took part in the final Test, taking 3 wickets in the match and scoring 37 to help England secure a 3–1 series win.

After not playing for England in limited overs cricket since their poor showing at the 2015 World Cup, Broad was included in the squad for the ODI series against South Africa.

[84] On 29 May 2020, Broad was named in a 55-man group of players to begin training ahead of international fixtures starting in England following the COVID-19 pandemic.

[85][86] On 17 June 2020, Broad was included in England's 30-man squad to start training behind closed doors for the Test series against the West Indies.

[7] At the end of the third day of the fifth Test during the 2023 Ashes, Stuart Broad announced his retirement from all formats and all levels of cricket following the conclusion of the series.

Named 'Tap and Run', in June 2022 it suffered total loss through fire caused by electrical drying of hotel linen overnight, leaving only the shell.