English pacer Stuart Broad put a curtain to his illustrious cricketing career after he scalped the wicket of Alex Carey to help his team claim a memorable victory and level the Ashes series. The right-arm pacer finished his Test career with 604 wickets in just 167 matches at an average of 17.95. Apart from these towering figures, Broad also achieved a unique record in his last outing.
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Broad finished his career with a Six and a Wicket
As mentioned above, Broad took the last wicket of Alex Carey to help his team level the series 2-2. Not only the last wicket, but the senior pacer also scalped a crucial wicket of Todd Murphy who was looking quite comfortable on the crease as a number 10 batter. Broad finished his spell with 2/62 in 20.4 overs.
Earlier during England’s second innings, Broad also smashed a huge maximum which turned out to be his last ball faced as his batting partner James Anderson got scalped by Murphy on the other end. The Oval crowd was fantastic. To come and pick up the last two wickets was fantastic. You think when you announce your retirement what your last ball is going to be but to get a wicket to win an Ashes Test is amazing,” Broad said after the match.
(On hitting a six on the last ball of Test career) It was the only ball I middled but happy to get a six out of it. For me, I have always enjoyed bowling to left-handers and loved finishing my career by dismissing a left-hander. The wicket cracked up a bit after the rain break and it helped us,” Broad added.
To note, Broad finished as the highest wicket-taker in the series with 18 scalps. It also included a 4-fer as the senior pro looked at his absolute best. As mentioned above, Broad has finished his Test career with 604 wickets. Apart from that, he has also amassed 3,662 runs at an average of almost 18. Broad also stroked 13 fifties and one Test century before hanging his shoes.
Meanwhile, here are some Twitter Reactions on Broad’s retirement: