Stuart Broad will lace up his boots, knot his headband and reach for his wide-brimmed hat for perhaps the final time on Sunday, after announcing that this fifth Ashes Test will be his last game in professional cricket.
Having mulled over the decision for a couple of weeks, Broad made up his mind and broke the news to Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum on Friday night, and informed the rest of the changing-room on Saturday morning. “I knew deep down that I wanted to finish playing cricket at the very top,” the 37-year-old said. “Part of me wanted to know that I could still do it. I’ve had a love affair with the Ashes my whole life and the thought of being able to bowl my last ball against Australia is something that fills me with joy. So that’s come to fruition. And it’s been the most enjoyable series, the most entertaining series, the most edge-of-the-seat series that I can remember. I just feel in a fantastic place as a player, as a person, and just feel very happy and content at the moment.”
The day started with Broad and Jimmy Anderson, playing their 138th game together, wearing each other’s shirts – England having mixed up their kits as one of several initiatives across the day to show support for the Alzheimer’s Society – and it ended with them both at the crease. But one of cricket’s great bowling partnerships is finally and voluntarily being broken – not that Anderson, who turns 41 on Sunday, has any plans to stop. “When I told him he just said, ‘Are you joking?’ Then we had a hug,” Broad said. “It never felt quite right for the two of us to go together, I think we needed some sort of crossover. It’s nice to know one half of that partnership will still be within the changing room.”
Broad had told Sky: “Tomorrow or Monday will be my last game of cricket. It’s been a wonderful ride, a huge privilege.”
At stumps at the end of the third day England had one wicket remaining in their second innings and stood on 389 for nine, leading by 377 – Australia will need to smash the record for the highest successful run chase at the Oval, the 263 achieved by England in the 1902 Ashes, by more than 100 runs if they are to win the game.
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Stuart Broad: his best Test displays
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Eight for 15 v Australia, Trent Bridge 2015
Undoubtedly Broad’s finest hour, this was perhaps among the most memorable feats in Ashes history. Bowling unchanged from the pavilion end on his home ground, Broad routed Australia almost single-handedly in the space of 57 deliveries. He had Chris Rogers caught at slip with his third ball, and doubled up when Steve Smith also fell in his first over. Broad finished with figures of 9.3-5-15-8, and Australia were blown away for 60 all out in 18.3 overs.
Hat-trick hero, 2011 and 2014
Broad is the only Englishman with two Test hat-tricks to his name. His first came against India 12 years ago, and again on his home ground in Nottingham. England were on their way to No 1 in the world under Andrew Strauss, and Broad did his bit when he had MS Dhoni flashing an attempted drive to second slip and Harbhajan Singh lbw, before bowling Praveen Kumar. Broad repeated the dose three years later, this time against Sri Lanka at Headingley with the successive scalps of Kumar Sangakkara, Dinesh Chandimal and Shaminda Eranga.
Six for 17 v South Africa, Johannesburg 2016
This was another unstoppable Broad special. England had eked out a 10-run first-innings lead at the Wanderers, but Dean Elgar and Stiaan van Zyl looked ready to hit back until Broad seized the moment again. In under 10 overs, he had the first five wickets – and added Faf du Plessis last out, caught-and-bowled, as South Africa mustered just 83. England went on to win by seven wickets inside three days.
Five for 71 & six for 50 v Australia, Chester-le-Street 2013
The Ashes were again in Broad’s sights, and he made no mistake. His five first-innings wickets restricted Australia to a 32-run lead. In the second innings, the tourists reached 168 for two in pursuit of 299. Broad stepped in, finishing with six for 50 as Michael Clarke’s men lost their last eight wickets for 56 and England clinched a series win.
Six for 31 & four for 36, v West Indies, Old Trafford 2020
Broad won player of the match, player of the series, took a 10-wicket match haul and become just the seventh bowler in history to claim 500 Test dismissals (his total is now 602, fifth on the all-time list). His name was all over this encounter, even chipping in 62 with the bat for good measure. After the match he made it clear the landmark was not a parting gift to English cricket and he has lived up to his word, playing on for three more years.
Five for 37, v Australia, The Oval 2009
A young Broad’s calling card to the world game. With the Ashes on the line he elbowed aside the likes of Andrew Flintoff and Steve Harmison to take matters into his hands. From 73 without loss, he ran a wrecking ball through the Australian batting order as they slipped to 160 all out. They never reclaimed the momentum and the urn came home.
Broad’s final task as a professional sportsman will be to assist in England’s effort to defend their total and level the series. Before his last innings Broad has taken 151 Australian wickets, making him England’s most successful Ashes wicket-taker of all time. In a career full of memorable moments and freewheeling celebrappeals the Ashes also provided the undoubted highlight: taking eight for 15 at Trent Bridge, his home ground, in 2015. “I know my emotions have to be sky high for me to be a good bowler, and my competitive spirit has to be sky high, and I can promise you that every time I’ve run in with the ball in my hand against Australia they’ve been there,” he said.
After 166 Tests, and nearly 17 years after his debut, Broad is also England’s most successful bowler against New Zealand, No 2 (behind Anderson) against India, Pakistan and South Africa, and No 3 (behind Anderson and Fred Trueman) against West Indies. “He’s obviously had an outstanding career,” Australia’s Todd Murphy said. “I’ve watched a lot of Ashes cricket and I think what you admire about a guy like that is that he charges in no matter what the conditions are and he fights all day and I think that’s all you can ask from a cricketer. His record’s unbelievable and he’s had a hell of a career.”
After England’s miserable attempt to win the Ashes in Australia in 2021-22, Broad and Anderson were both dropped from the side that toured West Indies that March, at which point the possibility of an emotional send-off at the Oval after becoming the only English bowler to play all five games in the series – remarkably, the last time he was not selected for a home Ashes Test was in 2005 – appeared very distant. But the pair were welcomed back into the team when McCullum and Stokes were appointed as coach and captain shortly afterwards to lead what has been a hugely successful and wildly entertaining red-ball reset.
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“Last March there were times I thought I would never play for England again and that hurt,” Broad said. “So to have had the 14 months I have had, bringing so much entertainment to the country, it has been a huge pleasure. I have been part of some fantastic teams and it is lovely to go out now having played for one of the best of them.”
Broad will make an immediate move into broadcasting, starting next month in the Hundred and continuing in September’s ODI series against New Zealand, and said he would seek “different ways to fuel my competitive instinct, because you can’t just expect it to go away”.
“I think ultimately how I’ve played my sport is, I’d never want anyone in the crowd or watching at home to think he’s not giving absolute everything, he’s not putting his heart and soul into it,” Broad said. “I know I’m not the most skilful player, I know that I need every inch of my competitive spirit and my drive and my effort to get anything out of my ability. And I would say every day I’ve put on a Nottinghamshire shirt and an England shirt I’ve given my heart and soul. I can’t think there’d be too many cricket fans out there that would think I’ve slacked off for a moment.”
