Stuart Broad plays his 150th Test match: Key numbers
What's the story
Veteran England pacer Stuart Broad marked his 150th appearance in Tests on Thursday. Broad achieved this milestone in the ongoing second Test versus Australia at the Adelaide Oval. Notably, Broad missed the first Test in Brisbane after being benched by the visitors. Broad took the crucial wicket of Marcus Harris early on Day 1 of the D/N Test. We decode his stats.
Context
Why does it matter?
Broad has been a long servant of the England cricket team and his longevity needs to be highlighted. He had made his Test debut in 2007 and 14 years have gone by. He is one of the best bowlers in Test cricket history, having scalped 500-plus wickets during this span. To get to 150 Tests in The Ashes, in particular, will mean a lot.
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Third England cricketer to play 150-plus Tests
Broad has become just the third England cricketer to play 150-plus Test matches. James Anderson (167) and Alastair Cook (161) are the other two Englishmen to have achieved this feat.
Twitter Post
An incredible achievement
Congratulations on an incredible achievement, @StuartBroad8! 👏#Ashes | 🇦🇺 #AUSvENG 🏴 pic.twitter.com/ySqWgT2Dcb
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) December 16, 2021
Milestone
10th overall to achieve this milestone
Broad is also the 10th cricketer in Test cricket history to have achieved his milestone. He joins the likes of Sachin Tendulkar (200), Ricky Ponting (168), Steve Waugh (168), Anderson (167), Jacques Kallis (166), Shivnarine Chanderpaul (164), Rahul Dravid (164), Cook (161), and Allan Border (156). Broad steered clear of former Sri Lankan ace Mahela Jayawardene, who also played 149 Test matches.
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Sixth-highest wicket-taker in Tests
Broad is the sixth-highest wicket-taker in Tests. He has claimed 525 scalps so far. He has registered the third-highest number of wickets in terms of pacers after Anderson and Glenn McGrath. He is also the second-highest wicket-taker for England after Anderson.
Numbers
Decoding Broad's Test career
Out of his 525 Test scalps to date, Broad has taken 341 wickets on home soil at an average of 25.78. He has had the most success against Australia at home (84 wickets). Away from home, Broad has taken 164 wickets so far. Interestingly, he has 35 wickets against the Aussies. He has also racked up 20 wickets from six Tests at neutral venues.
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Broad's numbers in The Ashes
Broad is the seventh-highest wicket-taker in Ashes history. He has claimed 119 wickets so far. Notably, Broad is the third-highest wicket-taker amongst Englishmen against the Aussies. He is only behind Ian Botham (128) and Bob Willis (123).