In Numbers: Stuart Broad Joins The Exclusive 500-Club

Stuart Broad became only the 4th pacer and 7th bowler overall to reach the milestone of 500 Test wickets when he saw the back of Kraigg Brathwaite on Day 5 of the third and deciding Test of the Wisden Trophy at Old Trafford.

He had earlier picked all the 6 West Indian wickets to fall on Day 3 conceding just 22 runs in his combined 7 overs.

Broad joins the Elite 500-Club of fast bowlers comprising of greats like fellow teammate, James Anderson, Glenn McGrath and Courtney Walsh.

Interestingly, Brathwaite also joins the record books and becomes the only batsman to be the 500th Test victim of two different bowlers.

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And coincidently, it was Anderson who entered the 500-Club by dismissing Brathwaite on the 8th of September, 2017 at Lord’s.

We look at some numbers defining Broad’s landmark.

500: Broad became only the 7th bowler in Test history to reach the landmark.

Courtney Walsh was the first to reach the milestone when on the 19th of March, 2001, he trapped Jacques Kallis lbw in Port of Spain.

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140: Number of Tests Broad took to reach the landmark

In terms of number of Test matches, Broad is the slowest amongst the 7 bowlers to reach the milestone of 500 wickets. However, in terms of time taken from debut till the start of the landmark Test, Broad was quicker than Kumble, Walsh and Anderson

2: Broad is only the second bowler in the 500-Club, after Anil Kumble, to boast of a Test hundred

Broad scored 169 against Pakistan at Lord’s in 2010

18: Number of 5-wicket hauls in Broad’s Test career

Broad picked up his 18th five-wicket in an innings in the first innings of the ongoing Test at Manchester. He returned with 6-31 in 14 overs.

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28: Broad’s Bowling Average in Test Cricket

Broad’s bowling average is better than some all-time English greats like Darren Gough, Matthew Hoggard , Steve Harmison and Andrew Caddick. It is also lower than some international bigwigs like Jeff Thomson, Mitchell Johnson, Craig McDermott, Makhaya Ntini, Chaminda Vaas, Tim Southee and Brett Lee amongst others.

56.8: Broad’s Strike Rate in Test Cricket

Broad’s bowling strike rate is better than the likes of Caddick, Harmison, John Snow, Brian Statham and Alec Bedser amongst English fast bowlers with more than 200 wickets. It is also lower than some all-time greats like McDermott, Walsh, Shaun Pollock and Ray Lindwall amongst others

49.8: Broad’s Strike Rate since 2018 in Test cricket

Broad’s bowling strike rate of 49.8 is the best for any England fast bowler (min. 30 wickets) since the 1st of January, 2018. It is better than Chris Woakes (51.1), Ben Stokes (53.4), Anderson (56.2), Sam Curran (58.1) and Jofra Archer (58.2). He is also the second-highest wicket-taker in the world amongst pacemen during this period with 102 wickets in 27 Tests.

2013-16: Broad’s Golden Period in Test cricket

Broad was the leading wicket-taker in the world amongst fast bowlers between 2013-16. During this period, he picked 196 wickets in 50 Tests at an average of 25.56 and strike rate of 51.9.

A combination of his average, strike rate and match-winning performances made him a higher impact bowler than James Anderson during this period. England won 6 Test series in this time-frame. Broad was their leading/joint-leading pacer (in terms of wicket-taken) in 4 of these series – The Ashes 2013, against New Zealand at Home in 2013, against South Africa Away in 2015-16 and The Ashes 2015.

203: The Difference between Broad and the next-highest contemporary wicket-taker amongst fast bowlers

Ishant Sharma with 297 Test wickets is the third-highest wicket-taker amongst active fast bowlers behind Anderson and Broad.

118 vs 104: Number of Wickets - Broad vs Anderson in ASHES TESTS

Broad has been more successful than Anderson in the historic Ashes rivalry – a series which has long acted as a benchmark for English and Australian cricketers.