The veteran English pacer, Stuart Broad is having a great start to his summer and it just got even better as he has now reached the 3rd position in the latest ICC Test rankings for bowlers after his stupendous performance in the third and final Test of the Wisden series against West Indies. He has taken a huge leap of seven positions.
Broad managed to scalp 10 wickets for 67 runs in the match including a six-wicket haul in the first innings which helped him to enter the 500 wickets club as well on Day 5. Broad on Tuesday became the 2nd English bowler after James Anderson and 7th in history of Test cricket to surpass the landmark of 500 Test wickets in a Player-of-the-Match performance in Manchester.
As a result of his exploits, Broad gained 7 places in the ICC Test Bowlers Rankings issued after England’s 269-run victory. The hosts also managed to register win in the three-match series by 2-1 to reclaim the Wisden Trophy from the West Indies.
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Australia fast bowler Pat Cummins is standing at the numero uno position in the rankings with 904 rating points followed by New Zealand’s left-arm seamer Neil Wagner (843rp) and Stuart Broad (823rp).
Broad took 6 wickets in the 2nd Test before adding another 10 in the third to top the wickets tally in the series despite being dropped from the first match in Southampton. He was subsequently named Player of the Series for his 16 wickets and 73 runs, which also included his 33-ball fifty in the third Test.
Talking about his achievement, Broad said, “When you get a milestone and put in performances, you want them to lead to wins so to get to 500 on a day that we managed to win a test match and a series feels very great, very special. I’ve never really set any targets and I’ve learned a huge amount through my career, but what is pleasing me at the moment is that I feel so fresh and excited to play the game and I’ve done some technical work that makes me feel in a great rhythm.”
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West Indies skipper, Jason Holder had earlier been at the No.3 position after his 7-wicket haul in their Southampton Test win, but he witnessed a drop of 2 places to be 5th after getting just 3 wickets in the last two Test matches at Old Trafford. Holder though is the top-ranked all-rounder in Test cricket.
