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Home  » Cricket » Broad's Fairytale Ending!

Broad's Fairytale Ending!

By REDIFF CRICKET
August 01, 2023 07:57 IST
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'You wonder what your last ball will be so to take a wicket to win an Ashes Test match is pretty cool.'

IMAGE: Stuart Broad with partner singer Mollie King and daughter Annabella after the fifth and final Ashes 2023 Test on Monday, July 31, 2023. Photograph: Paul Childs/Reuters
 

Stuart Broad finished his cricketing career on a high as he claimed the final two Australian wickets to bowl England to a series-levelling 49-run victory in the final Ashes Test at The Oval in London on Monday.

Broad, playing his final Test, claimed the wickets of Todd Murphy and Alex Carey to dismiss Australia for 334 and deny them their first Ashes win in England since 2001.

The 37-year-old Broad completed the job in a perfect swansong with the last two wickets, two days after announcing his retirement.

Broad got Murphy caught behind by wicket-keeper Jonny Bairstow and five runs later the veteran pacer produced another perfect outswinger to end Carey's resistance for 28 and spark wild celebrations around the ground.

Broad finished his career with 604 wickets from 167 Tests -- the second most by a pace bowler behind England team-mate James Anderson, who has 690 wickets from 183 Tests.

'It was absolutely wonderful,' Broad told Sky Sports. 'I thought Chris Woakes and Moeen Ali set the tone absolutely unbelievably.'

IMAGE: Stuart Broad celebrates after taking Alex Carey's wicket to bowl England to victory. Photograph: Paul Childs/Reuters

'Once we got a couple we really started to believe. The crowd were unbelievable. It was so loud and we just jumped on the back of that. To contribute to the team with two wickets is very special,' Broad added.

'When you make that decision (to retire) you wonder what your last ball will be so to take a wicket to win an Ashes Test match is pretty cool.'

IMAGE: Stuart Broad celebrates the victory with his family. Photograph: Paul Childs/Reuters

Captain Ben Stokes praised Broad, who took the final two wickets of the match to secure the win -- the first of them right after switching around the bails on the stumps at the non-striker's end seemingly to break the batters' concentration.

IMAGE: Stuart Broad acknowledges the fans at The Oval after the match. Photograph: Paul Childs/Reuters

'If you went to the bookies and said Broad would flip the bails and then get two wickets, you'd get very very good odds,' Stokes joked.

'That bloke has been incredible for England. I'm so glad his family were here to see him help us win a match we needed to win not to lose the Ashes,' he added.

IMAGE: An emotional Stuart Broad after the match. Photograph: Paul Childs/Reuters

IMAGE: Stuart Broad is congratulated by team-mate James Anderson -- the duo boast of a staggering combined tally of 1,294 Test wickets. Photograph: Paul Childs/Reuters

IMAGE: England's cricket fans show their love for Stuart Broad. Photograph: Paul Childs/Reuters
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