Published: Aug 14, 2023, 04:10 PM (IST)
Edited: Aug 14, 2023, 04:10 PM (IST)
ENGLAND pacer Stuart Broad announced his decision to retire from the sport at the end of the recently concluded Ashes series against Australia. Broad called time on his 17-year-old career at the end of Day 3 of the final Ashes Test at The Oval.
With 604 scalps in Tests, Broad sits in fifth place on the all-time list of wicket-takers in the format and is one of only two fast bowlers to take over 600 wickets, his long-time bowling partner Anderson. Broad has also picked 178 wickets in 121 ODIs and 65 wickets in 56 T20Is since his international debut in August 2006.
The veteran pacer revealed he wanted to go at the very top not when young batters coming in the near future consider his skills “rubbish”.
“Moving on from the game is one of the toughest decisions you could ever make. For me, I wanted to still love the game. I wanted to still know I could compete at the top level when I moved on. Ultimately, I wanted to finish at the very top. I’d almost say that one of my biggest fears was bowling against 20-year-old opening batters and them going, ‘I heard he was good, but he’s rubbish’. I knew I wanted to finish while I can still do it,” Broad told de Villiers during the interaction.
“I never wanted that feeling of going six months too late or finishing with my last act on a cricket field being a torn hamstring and you are never seen again. That was tearing my mind a bit. As soon as I got to grips with the feeling of wanting to finish on top… England vs Australia has always been the pinnacle for me in my career,” he added.
