'The bails are off' - Stuart Broad pens heartfelt note after bidding farewell to cricket

Veteran England pacer Stuart Broad bid farewell to international cricket following the conclusion of the 2023 Ashes. Broad, who made his red-ball debut in 2007, is recognised as one of the most successful fast bowlers in the longest format of the game. 

The 37-year-old ended his storied Test career on a high note, picking up the last two wickets of the fifth match to help England beat Australia by 49 runs and level the series 2-2. With 604 wickets to his name, he is currently fifth on the all-time list of most wickets in Test cricket. Furthermore, he is only the second pacer, after teammate Jimmy Anderson, to have taken over 600 wickets in the game’s longest format.

After bidding adieu to the game, Broad opened up by sharing a couple of images from the recently concluded Ashes series and penned a heartfelt note. "The bails are off. Unforgettable," Broad captioned the post with a red heart emoji.

See the post:

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A post shared by Stuart Broad (@stuartbroad)

On Day 5 of the final Ashes Test, England ran riot in the last session to beat Australia by 49 runs, denying the tourists a series triumph on England soil for the first time since 2001. Broad was crucial for the Ben Stokes-led side in his farewell Test as he picked two wickets in the second innings, dismissing Todd Murphy and Alex Carey to bowl Australia out for 334 in the 384-run chase.

Broad finished the 2023 Ashes series as the second-highest wicket-taker with 22 wickets at an average of 28.40 and an economy rate of 3.39. Notably, 153 of his 604 Test wickets came against Australia in 40 matches, the most by any bowler against the Kangaroos. Despite being dominant in the longest format of the game, Broad's white-ball statistics are less impressive, having picked up just 178 ODI and 65 T20I wickets.