Many Indians will remember Stuart Broad as the man Yuvraj Singh hit for six sixes. But Broad, who is retiring after the Ashes, went on to become far more than that.
The 37-year-old took 600 Test wickets (as of today) and was a member of England’s 2010 T20 World Cup winning side. The Ashes without Broad were unthinkable. He has the highest number of Test wickets for an English bowler against Australia (151 as of today).
He was also a handy batsman, scoring 3647 runs in Tests and with a hundred and 13 50s to his name.
On Saturday, Broad made public his decision to retire while talking to Sky Sports. He said he had made his decision "at about 8.30pm" the previous evening, and broke it to his years-long team-mates James Anderson and Joe Root on Saturday morning.
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"It's been a wonderful ride, a huge privilege to wear the Nottinghamshire and the England badge as much as I have," Broad told Sky Sports. "And, I'm loving cricket as much as I ever have. It's been such a wonderful series to be a part of, and I've always wanted to finish at the top. And this series just feels like it's been one of the most enjoyable and entertaining I've been a part of."
Broad added, "I've been thinking about it for a while, a few weeks. England vs Australia has always been the pinnacle for me - I have loved the battles with Australia that have come my way and the team's way, I have a love affair with Ashes and I think I wanted my last bat and bowl to be in Ashes cricket.
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"I told Stokesy last night and told the changing room this morning and to be honest, it just felt the right time and I didn't want friends or Nottinghamshire team-mates to see things that might come out, so I prefer to just say it now, and just give it a good crack for the last Australia innings.
"I have thought a lot about it, and even up till 8pm last night, I was 50/50. But when I went up to Stokesy's room and told him, I have felt really happy, since and content with everything I have achieved."
