Stuart Broad has become the seventh member of Test cricket’s elite 500 club and only the fourth seamer to achieve the feat.
The English bowler completed the milestone on day five of the decider against the West Indies before later taking his 501st to settle the Test and with it the three-match series.
Here, the PA news agency takes a look at the illustrious company Broad now stands alongside in the longest form of the game.
Muttiah Muralitharan, Sri Lanka – reached 500 in 87th Test
(800 wickets, 133 Tests, 22.72 average)
The Sri Lankan great’s controversial action will, unfortunately, always encroach into conversations about his ability to generate prodigious, venomous turn with his off-breaks and doosras but having been cleared to bowl by the International Cricket Council, he did so with a merciless appetite. His record of 67 five-wicket hauls and 22 10-wicket matches is a record by an almost comical margin and, arguably, no retirement in history has left such an irreplaceable gap in a national side.
Shane Warne, Australia – reached 500 in 108th Test
(708 wkts, 145 Tests, 25.41 avg)
It was Australian cricket’s great fortune that the careers of Warne and McGrath ran in tandem from 1993 to 2007, and no coincidence that they dominated that era so comprehensively. McGrath achieved greatness not through stunning pace or vicious lateral movement, though he was able summon enough of both. Instead he was relentless in finding the right line and length on any given surface and probing it exhaustively. Famous for his refusal to offer cheap runs, he has the lowest average among the top 10 wicket-takers.
Courtney Walsh, West Indies – reached 500 in 129th Test
(519 wkts, 132 Tests, 24.44 avg)
Discussions on the greatest fast bowler from the Caribbean tend to be long and involve illustrious names such as Malcolm Marshall, Andy Roberts, Joel Garner, Colin Croft, Michael Holding, Ian Bishop and Curtly Ambrose. But none of those had Walsh’s fortitude and staying power, as he clocked up 132 Test caps in 17 years. Like McGrath, Walsh was more work-horse than war machine in his devastating partnership with Ambrose but his height and natural bounce never failed to unsettle batsmen.
Stuart Broad, England – reached 500 in 140th Test
(501 wkts, 140 Tests, 27.94 avg)*
After catching the eye in Twenty20 cricket with Leicestershire, the seamer became a consistent member of England’s Test side after his debut in December 2007. A match-winning display against Australia two years later helped regain the Ashes and it would be a sign of things to come. Broad has taken more than 100 wickets against the Aussies, with his eight for 15 in the 2015 Ashes series his best figures in the longest form of the game. The 34-year-old is the slowest to reach 500 Test wickets, but his ability to fight back from adversity adds to his legacy alongside his partnership with Anderson.
