The right-hander has been opening in all three formats this summer. He had opened in the shorter formats before this season but not in first-class cricket. He has always batted at No 4 or thereabouts and initially needed convincing it was a good move to go in first.
But with test opener Hamish Rutherford returning from national duty, Broom dropped back to his old spot and combined in an undefeated 185-run stand for the fourth wicket with Sam Wells to help Otago beat Canterbury by seven wickets on Sunday.
Otago posted 381 for three in its highest successful fourth-innings chase. Broom was undefeated on 89 and Wells brought up his 100 with the last scoring shot of the game.
It was quite some chase and great to be part of it, Broom said.
''It was pretty special, really. We did it pretty easily in the end,'' he said.
''There weren't too many demons in the pitch and it was just a matter of getting yourself in and parking up and the runs would flow.''
As far as dropping back to his familiar slot, it was like slipping on an old shoe, he said. But Broom is keen to return to the top when Rutherford joins the test team.
''I feel like at the start of the season, when I took the role up, it was a challenge I had to get my head around. But I've found that I was growing into the role quite nicely. Hopefully, I'll get another chance to do it again.''
Broom does not enjoy waiting to bat these days but he might have to do a bit of that during Otago's Plunket Shield match against Auckland starting today.
The match is at Eden Park Outer Oval and the pitch has been a bit of graveyard for bowlers over the years. The last time a first-class match was played there, just 17 wickets fell in four days.
If it plays in a similar fashion, Otago (55 points) and Auckland (44 points) may have to consider making sporting declarations to progress the game. Both teams will be keen to play for the 12 points on offer for an outright victory, as Canterbury (67 points) has a useful buffer at the top of the competition table.
Auckland is 23 points adrift in fourth and will be the more desperate of the two sides to close the gap. That could proved to be an advantage for the visitors, Otago coach Vaughn Johnson acknowledged.
''Auckland are in the pack along with us and we've just got to play the first two or three days and see what eventuates before we can start thinking about declarations,'' he said.
''Auckland are a good unit and they will be hard to beat up there.''
Otago goes into the match without experienced seamer James McMillan, who is being rested. Jacob Duffy has taken McMillan's spot in the 12. It is the only change from the side which beat Canterbury by seven wickets in the previous match.
Neil Wagner will spearhead an attack also missing Ian Butler, who has been sidelined with chronic back pain since the opening game of the summer.
Johnson had hoped Black Caps all-rounder Jimmy Neesham would be released for the game. Neesham played in the fourth one-dayer against India but was 12th man for the first three matches and might be on the bench again for the final match in Wellington tomorrow.
''We've gone down that track,'' Johnson said.
''I've spoken to New Zealand management ... and none of them are being released.''
Plunket Shield: Eden Park outer oval, today
Otago: Hamish Rutherford, Aaron Redmond, Michael Bracewell, Neil Broom, Sam Wells, Derek de Boorder (captain), Brad Rodden, Mark Craig, Neil Wagner, Jacob Duffy, Blair Soper, Nick Beard.
Auckland (possible): Jeet Raval, Anaru Kitchen, Craig Cachopa, Colin Munro, Colin de Grandhomme, Gareth Hopkins, Bruce Martin, Michael Bates, Lochlan Ferguson, Matt Quinn, Donovan Grobbelaar, Bhupinder Singh.
