England fast bowler Stuart Broad on Tuesday revealed that his partner-in-crime James Anderson somehow had the feeling that Kraigg Brathwaite would be his 500th Test wicket.
Anderson’s intuition came true after Broad sent back Brathwaite in the first session on Day 5 of the third and final Test to become the second English bowler to bag 500 Test wickets, with Anderson being the other.
And it was sheer coincidence that Brathwaite was also Anderson’s 500th Test victim. Even Broad was baffled by this stat after the match ended with England winning by 269 runs in the series-decider.
Anderson had castled Brathwaite during the final Test of the series between England and West Indies at Lord’s in 2017 to enter the 500 wickets club. Almost three years later, Broad trapped Brathwaite for 19 to become the 7th bowler in history to reach the milestone.
“What a stat that is. Jimmy told me in the warm-up, ‘you know who it’s going to be’ and then told me his 500th victim was Brathwaite. The stars have to be aligned for that to happen! I think that’s going to be a quiz question for many years to come,” Broad said.
Broad was determined to prove a point in this series after being dropped from the first Test in Southampton as interim skipper Ben Stokes preferred the pace of Mark Wood instead of the 34-year-old’s experience of bowling in English conditions.
Wood picked up 2 wickets in the match before Root came back to lead the side and straightaway drafted in Broad in the playing XIs for the second and third Tests. The veteran pacer responded with 16 wickets in two games, which included a 6-wicket haul in the final game.
But he’s not done just yet. Broad doesn’t want to stop or take a break now and is raring to have a crack at Pakistan now after destroying the West Indies. England meet Pakistan in the first of their three-match series at Old Trafford from August 5-9.
“What is pleasing me at the moment is that I feel so fresh and excited to play the game. Now I’m looking forward to a couple of days off outside the bio-secure environment but also looking forward to being back and playing against Pakistan,” Broad said.
