Stuart Broad ended his career on a high note when he took the wicket of Australian wicket-keeper Alex Carey to win the fifth Test of the Ashes 2023 series. The 37-year-old ended his long journey in Test Cricket at The Oval, helping England take the match home by 49 runs. The right-arm quick was the vital stone in the series as he ended with the highest wicket-taker for England in the five-match series with 22 scalps to his name. Notably, he has scaled a historical achievement in Test Cricket.
Broad came out to bat on Day 4 of the fifth Test. He was unbeaten along with James Anderson when England were on 389/5. The hosts added only six more runs to their overnight total with Broad hitting a six off Mitchell Starc. This was his last ball faced in Tests. He then made headlines for his final spell on Day 5 of the contest as he took the final two wickets to take England home. The spell ended with Broad removing Carey to bowl Australia all-out. In this process, Broad has become the first player in 146-year-old history of Test Cricket to hit a six and take a wicket off a player's last ball in the longest format.
There are players who have either hit a six or took a wicket off their last ball in Test cricket. But none of them managed to do both. There was only one player who hit a six on the last ball of Test career before Broad. West Indian Wayne Daniel did the act in his last game in 1984 against Australia. Notably, in terms of bowling Muttiah Muralitharan, Richard Hadlee and Glenn McGrath have taken wickets off their final Test cricket balls.
England defeat Australia to deny a series win
England and Australia played a jaw-dropping final day of the fifth Test on Monday but the English side raced home by a margin of 49 runs. Even though the Aussies take the Ashes home, a series win on England soil for the first time since 2001 remains a dream for the mighty Test champions. The Ashes ended 2-2.
