19 July 2023 , 18:37
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Record-breaker Stuart Broad cemented his legacy as Australian cricket’s greatest nemesis of all time while completing his road to 600.
And together with the ever reliable Chris Woakes the duo put England on the right track to try and force the series-levelling win they crave in Manchester. That task has been made harder by Australia’s lengthy tail that managed to survive to the close at 299-8 after being inserted again as an act of understandable desperation.
England simply had to get on with the business of taking 20 wickets as soon as possible with the threat of rain later in the game, and they did just that with Broad snaffling Usman Khawaja early. But there was to be no dramatic collapse, instead it would be a day of intermittent successes as England worked hard to break down the Aussie door with Woakes leading the way with a deserved 4-52.
When Travis Head top edged his hook down to Joe Root at long leg in the first over after tea though, Broad wheeled away in celebration at becoming the fifth man to take 600 wickets in Test cricket. Mobbed by his team-mates, Broad then paused and took in the warm applause from a packed Old Trafford crowd that included his mum Carole and step dad Nick, giving them a thumbs up from the middle.
After all, it was on the same ground he had got his 200th and then three years ago where he reached his 500th and was only able to acknowledge his dad Chris because he was the match referee for a game played behind closed doors. It was a proud moment back in 2020, but a full house in an Ashes Test is what Broad lives for and what brings the best out of him.
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It is why he is the series leading wicket-taker at the age of 37, having been picked in every single game so far. And it is why the Head wicket was his 149th against Australia, surpassing the tally of Lord Ian Botham who also happened to be watching on from a comfortable vantage point in the ground.
Botham was an Ashes animal and the same could be said of Broad. “I find them the most enjoyable series to play in,” he said. “I’ve been able to forge some great battles in the Ashes and the memories when you win are what you remember.
Broad has also taken more Ashes wickets than any other Englishman (Gareth Copley - ECB/ECB via Getty Images)“I love the eye-to-eye battle and the Aussies bring that more than any of the teams we play and I thrive off that.” Broad could be excused for feeling every bit of those three and a half plus decades thanks to the effort that has gone into taking nearly twice as many Test wickets as Fred Trueman.
But still he charges in and still he hunts wickets, just like James Anderson, because the job is not yet done and there is still a contest to be fought against an impressive, yet flawed Australia. Five of their top six made it past 30, but none of them bettered 51 on a nip and tuck day that revealed the nervous mistakes that occur at the business end of any battle.
Woakes made sure he was in position to take advantage with his relentlessly quality bowling on English soil that earned him his four scalps and a champagne moment when Jonny Bairstow took the catch of the series so far, one-handed low to his right to get rid of Mitch Marsh. England just need a bit more magic.