Stuart Broad joins Test cricket’s 500 wickets club

LONDON: England seam bowler Stuart Broad has joined the Test cricket’s 500-wicket club when he dismissed the West Indies’ Kraigg Brathwaite at Old Trafford today (Tuesday).

Stuart Broad became the second England cricketer to claim 500 Test wickets. Broad joins fellow James Anderson as the only two England bowlers with 500 Test wickets.

Stuart Broad became just the seventh bowler to reach the landmark. Only six other bowlers in history have taken more wickets than Broad, who is playing in his 140th Test match.

The only bowlers with more than 600 Test wickets are Sri Lanka’s Muttiah Muralitharan (800), Australian Shane Warne (708) and India’s Anil Kumble (619). The only seamers ahead of Broad are James Anderson (589 wickets), Australia’s Glenn McGrath (563), and West Indies’ Courtney Walsh (519).

Broad, however, is the slowest to reach the 500-wicket milestone. Muttiah Muralitharan reached the milestone in 87 matches followed by Anil Kumble (105) and Shane Warne (108). Glenn McGrath picked up his 500th Test wicket in his 110th Test while Courtney Walsh and Anderson breached the mark in their 129th Test match respectively.

Broad has picked up 18 five-wicket hauls in his career as well as two 10-wicket match hauls. Broad has over 3,000 Test runs to his name, including a century and 13 fifties.