After becoming only the fifth man in the history of the sport to take 600 wickets in tests, self-proclaimed test “addict” Stuart Broad stated that he was proud to be in the company of some of cricket’s all-time great bowlers.
On the first day of the fourth Ashes Test, which took place on Wednesday at Old Trafford, the veteran English seamer lifted himself to the company of great players by removing Travis Head from Australia’s batting lineup.
Broad entered an elite group of five bowlers by having Head caught for 48 runs. The other four members of this group are Muttiah Muralitharan of Sri Lanka (800 Test wickets), Shane Warne of Australia (708), James Anderson of England (688), and Anil Kumble of India (619).
Only Broad and Anderson, the only active bowler in this elite club, each have taken 600 wickets in tests, making them the only quicks to have reached this milestone.
At the beginning of this match, which was Broad’s 166th Test, he had already taken 598 wickets and had already dismissed the opener for Australia, David Warner, 17 times at this level.
However, after England’s captain Ben Stokes won the toss, Australia was reduced to 15-1 when 37-year-old Stuart Broad had Usman Khawaja leg before wicket for three.
Head hooked a bouncer from Broad that was collected by Joe Root at fine leg. Broad was forced to wait until the first over after tea to get the landmark wicket.
On Wednesday, Broad finished with a score of 2-68 after bowling 14 overs, but he was unable to take any more wickets.
At the end of their innings, Australia had scored 299 runs without losing a wicket, and England needed to win the match in order to keep their hopes alive of winning back the Ashes.
Broad told Sky Sports after completing his momentous feat on the home stadium of his longtime teammate in Lancashire that “it was a pretty decent day and there is something nice about getting a 600th pole (wicket) from the James Anderson End!” after he had accomplished the feat. “It was a pretty decent day and there is something nice about getting a 600th pole (wicket) from the James Anderson End!” “It’s a one-of-a-kind experience for sure.
“When I went past Glenn McGrath, my hero growing up, that was really cool,” said Broad as he reminisced on surpassing the total of 563 Test wickets accumulated by the Australia speed great Glenn McGrath.
The two wickets that ‘Impact’ Broad took on Wednesday propelled him over Botham to become England’s top Test bowler against Australia with 150 scalps.
“I remember Ian Botham giving me my cap in Colombo when he was making his Test debut in 2007,” he said. Having an impact on the game was always the goal for me, not playing in the Tests themselves,” he explained.
“I believe it has something to do with longevity, and I am really hooked on Test cricket. I enjoy the tenacity and fierce competition that comes with it. It’s an honor to share space on that list with so many of the game’s all-time greats.
During his innings for Australia on Wednesday, batter Marnus Labuschagne scored 51 runs before being bowled leg before wicket by spinner Moeen Ali. Labuschagne lauded the endurance and skill of England batsman Stuart Broad, saying that Broad’s numbers “speak for themselves.”
“We know that if conditions are good for bowling, he (Broad) is always going to be a handful,” said Labuschagne. “If conditions are good for bowling, he (Broad) is always going to be a handful.”
“But he’s shown throughout the series and throughout his career that even when it’s not, he can still keep it tight, wait for his opportunity, and work a batter out.”
The seamer for Leicestershire, who is currently playing for Nottinghamshire, had only begun bowling towards the conclusion of his school career, which suggested that he would follow in the footsteps of his father Chris Broad, an Ashes-winning batsman. Broad is now playing for Nottinghamshire.
That batting talent was still on display when Stuart Broad scored a brilliant 169 against Pakistan at Lord’s in 2010. However, since getting his nose fractured by a bouncer from India’s Varun Aaron four years later, he has never been quite the same with the bat.
Broad has established himself as one of the best bowlers in the game thanks to his ability to generate late seam movement while simultaneously winning matches with match-winning bursts. He has taken five or more wickets in an innings of a test match twenty times.
The most well-known instance of this is when he scored a stunning 8-15 at Trent Bridge while England was winning the Ashes in 2015.
After that, he was already known as a public adversary in Australia due to the fact that he had refused to walk, or give himself out, when he was on the verge of slipping during an Ashes match two years earlier on the same field, but umpire Aleem Dar ruled in his favor.
During a match that England ultimately won by just 14 runs, Broad struck 65 despite being on 37 at the time.
Winner of the Ashes series a record four times When asked whether or whether playing against Australia brought out the best in him, Broad responded, “I think so.” I enjoy the additional scrutiny, as well as seeing how much the public enjoys it in both England and Australia.