A final crack: Broad eyes a triumphant finish
The most exciting Ashes series in recent history will roll into the final day thanks to rain ruining most of Day 4 on Sunday. Also rolling into the last day will be Stuart Broad’s remarkable 17-year career. The 37-year-old fast bowler has played 167 Tests, 121 ODIs and 56 T20Is, taking 845* wickets. And it doesn’t take a genius to figure out which format he came to love the most. In an era when most players are moving away from Tests, Broad lived for the buzz that only a five-day match can bring.
England’s Stuart Broad is pushed ahead by James Anderson to receive a guard of honour from the Australian players (Reuters)
“I am addicted to Test cricket,” he said after becoming only the second fast bowler to take 600 wickets. “I like the grit and competitive nature of it. It’s great to be on that list with some of the greats of the game.” One of the game’s fiercest competitors, Broad is the kind of bowler who could often look innocuous for large swathes of the innings. Nothing, it would seem, was happening for him or the team. Then suddenly, he would find a burst of inspiration to work up a storm.
If Jimmy Anderson, his long-time partner in crime, was consistency personified, then Broad was a runaway train. Few Aussies will forget his career-best 8/15 against Australia at Trent Bridge in the 2015 Ashes. He got his five-wicket haul in just 19 balls and went on to demolish the visitors. How England will hope for a repeat on Day 5. It may not happen, but Broad will run in as hard as he can and Australia will know that with him, one wicket can turn into two so easily. He has always been the kind of bowler who needs a wicket to kick into an even higher gear. The more wickets he got, the more unplayable he seemed to become.
That is perhaps why his career average hovered above 30 for more than 70 Tests. In the early part of his career, he seemed rather unremarkable — a bowler who could bat but that was that. He was clearly a work in progress but there are so many who start off as that but never quite find the will and perseverance to evolve into something greater. Broad did that. He evolved and learned his craft and found out how to ride the wave. The first of his inspirational spells was against, who else, the Aussies. It came at The Oval in 2009 — where he helped England dismiss Australia for 160… despite the visitors making it to 73/0.
Once the Broad train leaves the station, there is simply no stopping it. That Test gave him the confidence to persist. Between May 2011 and February 2016, he came of age, taking 234 wickets at an average of 25.88. A dip followed this high, but perhaps the most amazing renaissance is how he has done in the final phase of his career. In the last five years, he has taken 185 wickets in 49 Tests at an average of 24.98.
In India, he suffered. A career average of 61.70 over 8 Tests showed that his brand of bowling wasn’t quite suited to the subcontinent. The numbers weren’t quite great in Sri Lanka (avg 47.16) or even Bangladesh (avg 39.87) but almost everywhere else, he had some great impact.
His bowling needed some assistance — from the weather or the wicket — and when he got it, he was a very different bowler. On the turners in the subcontinent, he very rarely found the bounce and pace that made him unplayable. It was a craft he was yet to master. And in playing only 15 Tests in the subcontinent (Ind, SL and Bang), it might be argued, he never gave himself enough time either.
His career, however, will be synonymous with Ashes cricket. In England, he claimed 104 wickets at 26.56 in 25 Tests and he now holds the English record for most wickets against Australia — 151. There was something about the series that got him going.
“He loves the big moments, he loves the pressure and that is the sign of a true champion,” McGrath, whose tally of 563 Test wickets was surpassed by Broad last year, told the BBC on Saturday. “He has been incredible for England for a long, long time.”
For Broad, the idea of retiring had been on his mind for a few weeks now. And once you get thinking, the end is usually never far away. But to do it against Australia, in a home Test, just felt right for so many reasons.
“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,” Broad said on Saturday.
He added: “I told Stokesy (Ben Stokes) 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.”
England may not win the match or the series, but no matter. This is Broad’s victory lap for a job well done… very well done.
Day 4: Aussies take charge
A magnificent unbeaten 135-run stand between Usman Khawaja (69*) and David Warner (58*) will see the visitors go into the final day as favourites. Rain ensured that not much play was possible on Day 4, and when it was, the Aussie openers made no mistakes. They have 10 wickets in hand and 249 runs to get. But all the rain might give us some damp conditions on the final day and that could make for a spicy end to a rather epic series.
