Stuart Broad has become England’s second-highest wicket-taker in Test cricket
Image courtesy of: Zimbio
England pace bowler Stuart Broad has admitted that it was “very special” after he surpassed Sir Ian Botham’s tally of 383 Test wickets to become the country’s second-highest wicket-taker in Test history.
Broad achieved the feat when he clean bowled West Indies wicketkeeper Shane Dowrich on the third day of the first Test at Edgbaston, which also happened to be the first day-night Test to be held in England.
Broad now sits on 384 wickets after England took 19 wickets on the third day to claim a comprehensive innings and 209-run win over the men from the Caribbean.
“It’s very special,” Broad told Sky Sports. “He [Botham] has obviously been a hero of mine, the person who gave me my Test cap back in 2007 and someone who inspired me to play cricket for England with his performances against Australia.
“That inspires young kids so it is very special to be stood by him now and also up there in the rankings with him.
“They add up pretty quickly and there have certainly been some great memories along the way. You don’t really remember the wickets you take, you remember the matches you win and those special moments.
“It’s a very special day today, having the family here and being able to take a special wicket but it is actually the Test series wins that you remember.”
When asked about the thoughts going through his head before he dismissed Dowrich, the 31-year-old insisted that he was trying to use the conditions to his advantage.
“To be honest, it felt like quite a nice time to bowl,” he said. “We’d talked about the lights coming on and it going a bit darker, all I was thinking for that whole spell was ‘try and hit the top of off stump and if it does anything either way, just make sure you’re in the game’.
“Maybe this morning, I did try a bit too hard. This summer I’ve maybe not had the success I’d like and then you try to chase wickets.
“Even after my first ball, it was given not out when it was close to being three reds [on DRS], Cooky came up to me and just said ‘breathe, calm down, it’ll happen’. It’s great to play with some great mates for a long period of time.”
Broad added that he dedicated his 384th Test wicket to bowling coach Ottis Gibson, who is set to leave his position to become South Africa’s new head coach.
“I was actually pointing to Ottis Gibson there,” Broad said. “Ottis has been a huge influence on me.
“I opened the bowling with him when I started at Leicestershire and he knows my action better than I do! He’s been a huge help to along the way, so that was for him.”
When questioned how it felt to be bowling with a pink ball in a Test match for the first time in his career, the Nottingham native said: “I think you just have to be so disciplined on your line and then if it moves from there, it moves from there.
“I think all our seamers found it moved inconsistently and came out of the hand slightly differently from time to time but, fortunately, we had the experience in the group not to swing it into width and create width to get driven.
“I found it quite an interesting experience. It was different, I wasn’t sure what was happening with this ball – 40 overs in we couldn’t tell which the shiny side of the ball was.”