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JOHN SNOW put up with it. Douglas Jardine wallowed in it. But will Stuart Broad be strong enough to handle the tsunami of abuse that awaits him in Australia this summer?
Broad, who has been under attack in Australia since he failed to walk for a thick edge in the first Ashes Test, has intensified Australian sentiment against him during a Twitter war with Australian fans.
Broad said "I couldn't care less" to one fan who said he would be heckled all summer and branded another who suggested he should have walked a "pathetic hypocrite."
Broad will be granted extra security on tour but, unlike former English keeper Jack Russell who spent almost every idle hour locked away in his hotel room, Broad is not a room service kind of guy. He likes getting out with his fast-bowling mates.
Only the bold or foolish incite Australia fans.
When Bodyline skipper Douglas Jardine arrived in Australia for the Ashes in 1932-33 he was greeted by Australian journalists who asked whether he could release his playing squads on tour in time for their deadlines.
"I don't give a shit about your deadlines," was his curt reply. Jardine was on war footing from the moment he landed. It seemed the more people he annoyed the happier he was.
But such bravado is rare. It is generally not in the nature of English tourists to play Australia at their own antagonistic game.
Sledging is generally considered our game, not theirs.
Fast bowler Snow, who had the face of a gun-toting standover man you might see on The Professionals, was a rare example of an English tourist bold enough to stir the pot.
At a function at the start of the 1970-71 tour he slowly dragged his finger down the forehead of Australian fast bowler Alan Thomson and said "this is where I am going to part your hair when I bowl to you."
Snow's courage was backed up by ability – he dominated the series and left such an impression that Ian Chappell rated him the best fast bowler he ever faced.
Broad will need to have his mental flak jacket on from the moment he lands in Brisbane for the first Test from November 21.
Three years ago Broad toured Australia as the choirboy-faced youngster who took one Test wicket, scored no Test runs and headed home injured. Now he returns as the man in black.
Broad's father Chris, a strong-willed and combative opening batsman, will not be in Australia to support his son in the Tests because, as an ICC match referee he does not do English Test series and he is expected to be working elsewhere.
But he won't be fretting either because he knows Broad Jr can handle himself.
"He constantly surprises me," Chris once told The Courier-Mail. "I, like any father with their children, see pitfalls and you try and help him through. But he seems to see them himself and be able to overcome them with a remarkable amount of ease. He has more ability than I had."
The consolation for Broad is that, for all the shallow abuse, many Australians secretly admire antagonists who stand their ground.
Ian Chappell was always fascinated by the Jardine legend and regretted not having a decent chat with him while Allan Border called Jardine's Bodyline plans "tactically brilliant."
Kerry Packer became so fascinated by Snow's demeanour he hired him at age 37 to bowl in World Series Cricket with the line "I know you are past it . . . but I love you."
Stuart Broad's decision not to walk at Trent Bridge after being caught at slip did not go down well with the Australians.
England bowler John Snow is famously grabbed by a spectator at the SCG in 1971. Snow had earlier hit Australian batsman Terry Jenner with a bouncer, forcing Jenner to retire hurt.
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