Former English skipper, Andrew Strauss reckons that the veteran pacer Stuart Broad has never been in better form as he is just wicket away from taking 500 Test wickets. Broad was kept waiting to join Anderson in the “500-club” after Monday’s Day 4 of the ongoing third Test against the West Indies was ashed-out at Old Trafford left him stranded on 499 Test wickets.
Strauss, who captained both Broad and Anderson, raised the longevity of both the bowlers said, “They are two of England’s greatest of all time. What has really impressed me with both of them is their hunger to continue. For the two of them to be so hungry is extraordinary. I honestly don’t believe Stuart Broad has bowled much better than this. There were a couple of years where perhaps he ‘lost’ his wrist a bit and it was hard work for him bowling to right-handers.”
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Both Broad and Anderson, who will be celebrating his 38th birthday this week, are at an age where previous new-ball bowlers would have long since retired, although England would, ideally, like them to continued till the 2021/22 Ashes in Australia.
Strauss said the key to Broad’s success was his “competitiveness”, as the latter has recently revealed that he felt “frustrated, angry and gutted” at being left out of the first Test.
Strauss elaborated, “He is at his best when he has something to prove. He’s had the bit between his teeth in these last two Test matches and that has served him particularly well over the course of his career.”
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The ongoing third Test is also supporting the Ruth Strauss Foundation, which the former English opener established after his wife died from a rare form of lung cancer affecting non-smokers in 2018. As a result of that, they have already raised as much as 655,000 pounds ($844,000) compared to last year’s inaugural total of over 550,000 pounds during an Ashes Test at Lord’s, even though there are no fans at Old Trafford.
