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When Stuart Broad started playing cricket, his father Chris Broad who represented England in 25 Tests and 34 ODIs was not sure whether he will be able to perform at the highest level. Decades later, Stuart not only retired with 604 Test wickets and more than 3,500 runs in the longest format, he became the first cricket in Test cricket’s long history to achieve this feat in his farewell game.
The 37-year-old became the first cricketer to hit a six and take a wicket off the final ball faced and bowled in the farewell game. On Day 4, Broad hit 'Player of the series' Mitchell Starc for a six.
Starc bowled a short delivery and Broad pulled it over deep mid-wicket for a six as boundary rider Mitchell Marsh had no chance to get his hand on the ball.
On Day 5, Broad during his marathon spell ended Alex Carey's resillient knock. He took the ball away from Carey with a scrambled seam to induce an outside edge which was caught by Jonny Bairstow.
Broad took two wickets in his final spell of Test cricket to guide Ben Stokes-led side to a 49-run win over Pat Cummins' Australia at Kennington Oval, London. The thrilling win helped England level the Ashes 2023 series by 2-2.
“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. I've always enjoyed bowling to left handers, was great to bowl to two left handers, to swing it away and bring the slips into play,” he said after sealing the fifth Test for the hosts.
Broad also revealed how data made him believe that he should ball to left-handed batters from around the wicket which also helped him dominate Warner in last few years.
“I like detail, data and research. I need facts and data to believe in something, that was very evident when I came around the wicket to left handers in 2015. I did a lot of research against David Warner because he was so hard to bowl at and found ways to dismiss him. It also helped me hammer down my strengths as a bowler. It's about knowing what your weaknesses are but also about finding your strengths and sticking to them,” he recalled.
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