Stuart Broad becomes 4th fast bowler to take 500 Test wickets

England’s player Stuart Broad took his 500th Test wicket when he dismissed the West Indies’ Kraigg Brathwaite lbw at Old Trafford on Tuesday.

The 34-year-old Broad became just the seventh bowler to reach the landmark, and only the second Englishman.

The English paceman said, “I feel I’m bowling as well as I ever have.  I’ve done some technical work and changed my run-up in the last 18 months. I’m challenging the stumps and trying to make the batsmen play as much as possible. That’s a tactical thing that’s really taken me to a really exciting level.

“I felt like my alignment to the stumps was really good in this game. I had a bit of confidence and match practice from the second Test so my tempo and alignment felt like every time I released the ball I could bring off stump into play.

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“It is easy to get to 34 and start thinking ‘I’ll do what I have done for the last 13 years and be okay’. But I’m looking for the next step that will improve me as a cricketer.  That keeps you moving forward as a cricketer.

He further added, “If you’d asked me four years ago, ‘at 34 do you think you could play another three or four years?’ I’d have said absolutely not. Now I’m 34 and I feel fit. Post-lockdown my fitness testing was the best it’s ever been. I feel excited.”

2️⃣ matches
1️⃣6️⃣ wickets
🔟.9️⃣3️⃣ bowling average
5️⃣0️⃣1️⃣ Test wickets

And we can't forget his 62 in the first innings of the third Test 😍 pic.twitter.com/Z6e1udt57H

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— England Cricket (@englandcricket) July 28, 2020

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 are retired.