Broad claims 500th Test wickets milestone
Image : Collected
|| Desk Report ||
England pace bowler Stuart Broad has become the second England bowler to take 500 Test wickets after reaching the milestone on day five of the third Test against West Indies at Emirates Old Trafford, Manchester on Tuesday.
Broad took the landmark 500th Test wickets when he dismissed the West Indies’ opener Kraigg Brathwaite leg-before-wicket (lbw). The 34-year-old paceman became just the seventh bowler in the world to reach the landmark.
The only bowlers with more than 600 Test wickets are a trio of former spinners -- Sri Lanka’s Muttiah Muralitharan (800), Australian Shane Warne (708) and India’s Anil Kumble (619).
The only seamers ahead of Broad are his long-time England new-ball colleague James Anderson (589 wickets) and Australia’s Glenn McGrath (563) and the West Indies’ Courtney Walsh (519), both of whom retired from international cricket many years ago.
Broad took his 500th wicket in the 140th Test of an England career that began when he debuted against Sri Lanka in Colombo in 2007 and made Chaminda Vaas his first Test victim.
The seamer’s best figures are the 8-15 he claimed from 9.3 overs against Australia in 2015 as the tourists were rolled for 60, while he has also bagged seven wickets in an innings twice, both at Lord’s, against West Indies in 2012 and New Zealand in 2013.
Broad has picked up 18 five-wicket hauls for England - a tally only bettered by Anderson (28), Sir Ian Botham (27) and Sydney Barnes (24) - with his most recent coming in the first innings of this Test when he took 6-31 as West Indies were bundled out for 197 in the series decider.
