Stuart Broad, James Anderson have nearly same bowling average when taking 500th Test scalp

England fast bowler Stuart Broad joined a gallery of some great names on Tuesday, July 28. By trapping West Indies opener Kraigg Braithwaite in front of stumps, the 34-year-old pacer picked up his 500th Test wicket. By doing so, Stuart Broad became only the seventh bowler in history to reach the landmark after Muttiah Muralitharan (800), Shane Warne (709), Anil Kumble (619), James Anderson (589), Glenn McGrath (563) and, Courtney Walsh (519).

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England vs West Indies: Stuart Broad joins James Anderson as country’s leading paceman

Upon reaching 500 wickets (501*), Stuart Broad also joined his new-ball partner and long-time teammate James Anderson by becoming only the second English bowler and the fourth pacer overall to do so. On Day 5 of the series-deciding England vs West Indies third Test, Stuart Broad dismissed Kraigg Braithwaite to leave the visitors gasping for breath at 45-3. While Braithwaite became the pacer’s 500th Test victim, interestingly, the West Indies opener was also James Anderson’s landmark scalp in 2018.

Stuart Broad ended the third England vs West Indies Test with a match-haul of 10-67, i.e. his third 10-wicket haul in Tests. With his imperial twin spells at Old Trafford, the right-arm bowler improved his bowling average from 28.38 to 27.94. By improving his Test statistics, Stuart Broad moved closer to his even-superior teammate James Anderson in terms of bowling averages. Anderson, with 589 wickets across 153 matches, currently holds a bowling average of 26.85.

Co-incidentally, when Anderson took his 500th Test wicket in the Lord's 2017 Test, his bowling average was 27.64, which is just 0.30 lesser than Broad's at the time.

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England vs West Indies: Stuart Broad and James Anderson joins an iconic duo

The Day 5 of the recently-concluded England vs West Indies third Test also marked only the second different pairing in history where two bowlers from the same team with 500-plus wickets took field in the same match. Before Stuart Broad and James Anderson’s landmark pairing, the only members of the elite club were former Australian bowlers Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath during the ending stages of their respective careers. Both Warne and McGrath collectively held 1,272 Test wickets between them on the day of their retirements in January 2007.

England vs West Indies: Stuart Broad powers England to a series-clinching victory

After claiming his 500th wicket by sending Kraigg Braithwaite back to the pavilion, Stuart Broad stretched his tally to 501 during the course of his four-wicket haul in the second innings. West Indies, in pursuit of an improbable target of 399, were shot out for 129 on Day 5. For his 10-wicket haul and a quickfire 40-ball 62 in England’s first innings, Broad was fittingly adjudged as ‘Player of the Match’.

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England vs West Indies: A victorious day for hosts highlighted by Stuart Broad’s 500th wicket, watch video

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Image credit: AP