Again and again: Stuart Broad once again wrote his own script as he took the final wickets that won England in the Oval Test. Credit: AP/Kirsty Wigglesworth
By baiting the Aussies to the bitter end, in his 167th and final test, Stuart Broad found a new trick to disarm his opponents. At 10 past seven, on a sun-drenched evening at The Oval, with Australia threatening to pull off a daring heist to win the series and England a little desperate, Broad became choreographer again, switching bail for an Australian non-hitting batsman. .
This is a curious trick that Brod picked up at the age of 38. There is no sport logic in this act; instead, it's about changing luck. “I thought changing bail was an Australian thing, but I have to admit I could have made it up,” he explained.
It was a mind trick used by the Australians during the 2019 Ashes series, when spinner Nathan Lyon changed the bail at the end of a no-hitter during the 62nd over of the fourth Test, while Joe Ruth rode in the 68th. Three runs later, Ruth left, trapped by Josh Hazlewood. But not everyone in the Australian team is familiar with him.
«I've never heard of a bail exchange as a talisman,» said Justin Langer, Australia's head coach for the 2019 series. “Such a strange one. I used to touch the rails between overs because of superstition.»
After his previous two successive serves narrowly avoided Todd Murphy's outside edge, Broad's ploy signaled already feverish crowds to turn up the noise further.
Beat Mary by @stuartbroad8 and it happened again! 🧙♂️#BBCCricket #Ashes pic.twitter.com/NLa5nlgOgE
— Special Test Match (@bbctms) July 31, 2023
So, wearing his trademark white bandanna, worn with love by dozens of imitators, Broad rushed in as the crowd squealed in anticipation. From a bold counter-attacking opportunity, Murphy became a mere puppet: from Broad to Johnny Barstow's wicket. Broad swerved to the side in his trademark airplane flight celebration, engrossed in his teammates, laughing in disbelief. Then, to complete the touch, Brod ran over to the lucky guy to thank him.
Being a real showman and player at the moment, Broad captured the last two wickets of the series. Photo: PA/Mike Egerton
It was an absurd moment, and yet it fit the career of Broad, whose theatrical skills were indispensable for his brilliant bowling.
In the box on the Oval, his family embraced in disbelief. Among them was Carol's mother; father Chris, himself a hero of the England Ashes; his sister Gemma, former England analyst; and his fiancée Molly King, a pop star-turned-radio DJ, with their newborn child. Perhaps they could not believe the sight. Perhaps, like everyone who witnessed Broad's career, this moment seemed preordained.
The entire Broad family, including the bride Molly King and their daughter were present at his farewell. />It was a day that should be remembered by all the Broad clan. Photo: stills from Reuters/Andrew Boyers.
England were now just one wicket away from winning the match, while Australia still needed an unlikely 55 runs. Moin Ali, like Broad, played his last test match, oblivious to a groin injury that caused a poison spin.
Only like Clint Eastwood in the shootout at the end of the western, it should have been Broad: the man who has taken more Australian wickets than any other person in the history of Test cricket.
Before each delivery, Broad — using his hands to stir the crowd in his usual manner — cheered with a chant of «Stand up if you love Brody.» The run-up before each pitch was a rising crescendo of noise culminating in rapturous anticipation.
Fleetingly, the crowd celebrated a perfect finish at the 93rd over: Broad's perfect serve, which came off Alex Carey, who overtook Zach Crowley on the second miss. However, along the way, the ball hit Crowley on the wrist, painfully crashing into the turf.
But Broad's moment would simply be delayed, not cancelled. The next time he kissed Carey's outer edge again; this time the edge of the southpaw landed safely in Bairstow's gloves.
The control match was won, the series was equal. On the field, Broad was at his best: «I just ran like a headless chicken.» When he stopped, he was quickly embraced by James Anderson, the second half of England's greatest pair of fast bowlers to ever open. Embracing strangers flickered in the stands: such is the intoxicating euphoria of Ashes cricket.
The Oval is the venue for grand farewells. Often tears are not always festive. In 1948, it took Don Bradman four runs in his final Test inning to finish with an average of 100; reaching the fold to applause so fervent that he supposedly had tears in his eyes, he received the second ball for nothing.
Now Broad belongs to that rare category of athletes whose farewell combines the elixir of individual and team triumph. Amid this bedlam, Broad treated himself to a well-deserved stump: a small memento from the last test match.
was also Moen Ali's last test, and Brod left the field with a popular station wagon. Photo: Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Boyers
He took the moment to immerse himself in the delights of this magical evening, repeatedly looking at the ground on his feet. Brod then hugged another England retiree, Moen, whose three wickets were also a fitting final. He left for the last time as an England cricketer, leading his country from the field. «Throwing the wicket to win the Ashes Test match, which was my last ball, is what will make me smile for the rest of my life,» he said.
Thousands of English fans will also always smile at the thought of Broad in the Ashes. Fourteen years ago in this stadium, with golden curls, Broad five of 37 announced his transformation from promising player to serious Test cricketer. Even more outlandish was his 8-of-15 Ash clinch, one of the greatest hours of English sporting endeavor at Trent Bridge in 2015; Broad is the only Englishman ever to be man of the match in three decisive series of victories over Australia.
However, Broad's status as one of England's most beloved cricketers reflects more than just his sporting accomplishments. While Broad gives his all to the Test cricket challenge, he also never loses sight of the silly.
Such a sense of mischief was evident in his failure to pass the 2013 Ashes test after a massive lead over his first miss, and then in enjoying the Aussie rage in the Down Under Ground series that followed. This was evident in Lord when Broad put on a grand show, carefully landing his bat after Bairstow's controversial run-out. And it was evident in his embrace of the new gambit at the Oval, replacing the batsman's bail. The very first time he tried it, in the first inning of Australia, a wicket immediately followed; when it happened again in Australia's second inning, Broad called it «bizarre.»
Stuart Broad: «I can't believe the bail trick worked again!»
Perhaps just as bizarre is that Broad is unique in the history of Test cricket, ending his career with his last six-pointer (a decisive blow to Archbishop Tenison's school on a Sunday morning) and taking the wicket. last ball. And all this accompanied by a magnificent summer evening, 25,000 people chanting his name, and an exciting British victory. There has been no better denouement for a career of swearing — and often beating — Australia.
Now the most natural second career looms for English cricket playwright extraordinaire: television, where Broad will fit seamlessly into the Sky Sports experts.
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