Stuart Broad, one of England’s finest bowlers, has announced that he will retire from the game after the Oval Test against Australia. The pace bowler made the surprise decision at the end of day 3 of the final Test. Broad has been in fine form in the ongoing Ashes 2023, having taken 20 wickets in the series so far.
In his illustrious career, Broad took 602* Test wickets, 178 ODI scalps and 65 T20I wickets. “It’s been a wonderful ride, a huge privilege to wear the Nottinghamshire and the England badge as much as I have,” Broad told Sky Sports at the close of the third day’s play. “And, I’m loving cricket as much as I ever have. It’s been such a wonderful series to be a part of, and I’ve always wanted to finish at the top. And this series just feels like it’s been one of the most enjoyable and entertaining I’ve been a part of.”
“I’ve been thinking about it for a while, a few weeks. England vs Australia has always been the pinnacle for me – I have loved the battles with Australia that have come my way and the team’s way, I have a love affair with Ashes and I think I wanted my last bat and bowl to be in Ashes cricket.
“I told Stokesy last night and told the changing room this morning and to be honest, it just felt the right time and I didn’t want friends or Nottinghamshire team-mates to see things that might come out, so I prefer to just say it now, and just give it a good crack for the last Australia innings. I have thought a lot about it, and even up till 8pm last night, I was 50/50. But when I went up to Stokesy’s room and told him, I have felt really happy, since and content with everything I have achieved,” he added.
Broad, born in Nottingham, in 1986, made his first-class debut way back in 2005 versus Durham UCCE. In 2006, he bagged his maiden five-wicket haul in first-class cricket for Leicestershire against Surrey. In the same year, Broad made his international debut against Pakistan in a T20I, and Shoaib Malik turned out to be his first international wicket.
In 2007, he earned his Test debut against Sri Lanka in Colombo. Interestingly, he made his Test debut in place of his long-time pace colleague, James Anderson. The very next year, Peter Moores, the then coach of England, replaced Steve Harmison and Matthew Hoggard with Anderson and Broad for the Wellington Test against New Zealand. Basically, it signalled a new era of English cricket, with Anderson and Broad leading the pace pack. Soon, Broad played a key role in England’s win in Napier, bagging five wickets in the Test.
The other turning point of his Test career came at the Oval in 2009, when he put on a game-breaking performance of 5 for 37 versus Australia to help England regain the Ashes. In 2015, he recorded his best Test figures of 8 for 15 against Australia at Trent Bridge. A couple of years earlier, he had also bagged a six-for against Australia at the Riverside Stadium, spearheading England to a 3-0 series win.
Broad also showed some resilience by returning to the England Test side in 2022 after he was dropped from the set-up, alongside his teammate, Anderson. Incidentally, in the ongoing Ashes, he is the second highest wicket-taker.
During the early part of his career, Broad also was a fine striker of the ball, evidenced by his 169 against Pakistan at Lord’s. He also composed 13 Test fifties. However, after he was hit on the nose by the Indian pacer Varun Aaron in 2014, he perhaps lost a bit of his batting ability.
Broad also had his moments in limited overs cricket. In 2010, he finished with eight wickets in the T20 World Cup, which in turn played a key role in helping England win the tournament. Just a few years earlier, Broad had a chastening experience in that format, getting smashed for six sixes in a single over by Yuvraj Singh. In ODIs, he returned his best figures of 5 for 23 against South Africa in Nottingham in 2008.