Stuart Broad will retire from all cricket following the conclusion of the fifth Ashes Test.© AFP
England pacer Stuart Broad has finally decided to call it a day. The veteran seamer said Saturday he will retire from all cricket following the conclusion of the fifth Ashes Test against Australia at The Oval. Broad’s comments came after the end of the third day’s play. Broad, who is the fifth most successful bowler in the format with 602 Test wickets, is playing his 167th and final Test, having made his debut in December 2007 against Sri Lanka in Colombo.
The English pacer, however, will always be remembered for conceding six sixes in an over during the 2007 T20 World Cup when former India all-rounder Yuvraj Singh hammered him all over the park in Durban.
Broad, who was only 20 at that time, has finally opened up on that over. He insisted that it was a vital moment in his career.
“Yeah, it was obviously a pretty tough day, what would I have been, 21, 22? I learned a lot, I pretty much based a whole mental routine through that experience, knowing that I was left very short as an international performer. I’d rushed my preparation, I didn’t have any pre-ball routine, I didn’t have any focus,” Broad said after stumps on Day 3.
Broad added while the battering he received at the expense of Yuvraj made him mentally strong, he wished “that didn’t happen”.
“I started building my ‘warrior mode’ that I call it after that experience. Ultimately, I wish that didn’t happen. What really helped me that it was a dead rubber, so I didn’t feel like I’d knocked us out of the World Cup. But I think it steeled me up to make me the competitor I am to this day, and has driven me forward a huge amount,” he added.
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