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Australia collapse for 60 as Broad joins the 300 club

Broad became the 5th Englishman to get to 300 Test wickets

England pacer Stuart Broad took his 300th Test wicket today in the 4th Ashes Test at Nottingham as Australia collapsed to 60, one of their lowest totals in Test history. He finished up with astonishing figures of 8 for 15 which is also his personal best.

He dismissed opener Chris Rogers for a duck in the 3rd ball of the morning. This was the left-hander’s first ever duck in Test Cricket and it has come in what probably is his second last Test match. 

Broad became only the fifth Englishman to achieve this feat and also the slowest among them all as he has taken 83 Tests to get to this landmark.  James Anderson’s injury meant the onus was on Broad to deliver since he was the next senior bowler in the line up. He has also become only the 13th player to have achieved the double of 2000 runs and 300 wickets in Test Cricket. 

Earlier in the day, the England pacers made perfect use of the conditions as they swung the ball to good effect. Broad went on to claim a seven-wicket haul as he picked up run machine Steven Smith as well in the 1st over. All he needed was 19 deliveries to get to his fifth wicket in the innings as the out of form Michael Clarke edged him to the slip cordon. 

Mark Wood who replaced Anderson in the playing eleven dismissed David Warner for a duck in the second over of the innings and reduced the visitors to 10 for 3. Australia never recovered from that position as Shaun Marsh who was brought in to replace his brother Mitchell Marsh in the line up failed to put up some resistance as well as Broad sent him packing for another duck.

He then removed the out of form Adam Voges in the 5th over to have Australia reeling at 21 for 5 in the fifth over. Wicket-keeper Peter Nevill then joined forces with his captain who was under severe pressure to deliver. 

But he played a strangle slash well outside the off stump to edge behind and gift Broad his 14th five wicket haul in Test Cricket. Nevill was the next to go as last match’s hero Steven Finn went through his defences. Broad then managed to dismiss Starc and Johnson in the same over as Australia faced an embarrassing situation of folding up before crossing 50.

If the 2-1 lead wasn’t enough, this batting performance has tilted the series hugely in England’s favour as they look to regain the Ashes. It has also cast a huge doubt on skipper Michael Clarke’s Test future. 

 

 

 

 

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