Stuart Broad: The Magnificent Journey from 6 Sixes to 600 Test Wickets

The date is September 22, 2007. India is about to play arch-rivals Australia in the second semi-final of the first edition of the ICC World T20. Match referee Chris Broad is having a word with India allrounder Yuvraj Singh pre-game. Usually, a match referee has a word with the players after the match if the player has breached any code of conduct. It turns out Broad wanted Yuvraj’s match-worn jersey from his previous game against England in which the left-hander created history becoming the first batter to hit six sixes in an over in T20Is. The unfortunate bowler was Chris’s son Stuart Broad. 21 year Stuart Broad was just a year into international cricket then.

Cut to July 19, 2023. 37-year-old Stuart Broad is pacing away from the James Anderson end, named after his long-time bowling partner, to deliver to Australia’s in-form middle order batter Travis Head. Broad bangs the ball hard into the surface prompting Head to attack with a pull, induces a top edge flying towards Joe Root on the fine leg boundary, he takes a fine catch as the crowd stands up on their feet with the English fielders swarming towards Broad who has just taken his 600th Test wicket in 166th Test appearance.

His partner in crime Jimmy Anderson is absent from the field, on a short break and fittingly congratulates his mate as he returns. After all, the couple of ageing warriors of England’s Test side are the only two fast bowlers in the world to join the 600-wicket club in Test cricket after Muttiah Muralitharan, Shane Warne and Anil Kumble. An astonishing record for Broad with an astonishing journey as well.