Top 5 spells of Stuart Broad

When you think of Stuart Broad, you think of that tall pacer who can run through a side and turn the game on its head in one spell. He hailed from a cricketing family as his father Chris Broad (who is now an ICC match referee) played 25 Tests and 34 ODIs for England as an opening batsman.

A blonde haired Stuart Broad made his International debut as a 20-year-old pacer in a T20I against Pakistan in 2006. He bowled a decent spell of 4 overs and picked up a couple of wickets but also conceded 35 runs. A couple of days later he made his ODI debut where he had figures of 1/14 in 3 overs before rain played spoilsport.

He then started to feature in the England limited-overs sides regularly and after his good show against India in the 7-match ODI series (where he picked up 9 wickets), he found himself in the England squad for the 2007 World T20 where he was famously thrashed for six sixes in an over by Yuvraj Singh.

Later in 2007, he made his Test debut in Sri Lanka. His Test career was not off to the greatest of starts but he bettered his record as he grew in experience. He slowly turned into one of the best new-ball bowlers for England and went onto form an outstanding partnership with veteran James Anderson.

He is only the second England bowler to take more than 400 Test wickets and currently sits at the second place on the top wicket-takers list for England (behind James Anderson). A lot of critics believe that Nottingham pacer is coming to the end but he feels he is fresh and has a few years left in him. Also, England also rely on Broad to give them early breakthroughs and he still remains one of the key components of the Test line-up.

As he turns 32 today, we wish him a Happy Birthday and also look back at 5 of his best spells in international cricket.

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#5 3/15 vs NZ, Wellington – 2013 (T20I)

Broad who was England's T20 captain at the time, took 7 wickets in the 3-match series.

After winning the first T20I comfortably (2013), England lost the second one comprehensively as New Zealand won by 55 runs. In the decider at Wellington, England won the toss and decided to field first.

Skipper Stuart Broad led from the front as he took 3/15 to restrict the Kiwis to just 139 in their 20 overs. Sharing the new ball with Steven Finn, Stuart Broad scalped Hamish Rutherford in the 4th over to give England an early breakthrough. Broad bowled a tight opening spell as he conceded just 8 runs in 2 overs.

He then came back in the 16th over and dismissed Colin Munro before taking the wicket of the well-set Martin Guptill (who top-scored with 59) in his final over. The then T20 skipper’s efforts helped the visitors restrict the Blackcaps to an under-par total. England then chased the total down inside 13 overs and won by 10 wickets.

#4 4/15 vs South Africa, Chennai - 2011 (ODI)

This was one of Broad's finest performances in ODI cricket.

In the 2011 World Cup, England were off to an indifferent start. Netherlands made them sweat in their opening encounter while they were involved in a high-scoring tie against India. England then were stunned by Ireland who chased down 328. Their next game was against South Africa who had won both their previous encounters.

In a day-game, England won the toss and opted to bat first at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. They were bowled out for 171 and were once again staring down the barrel. The Proteas were off to a good start as it looked like England’s poor World Cup campaign would continue.

But Graeme Swann provided England with the breakthrough breaking the 63-run opening stand. It was then Stuart Broad who picked up the next two wickets to put pressure on the South African middle-order. Broad dismissed Hashim Amla and Jacques Kallis in consecutive overs to bring England back in the game. The tall Nottinghamshire pacer was bowling really well and was not giving anything away. The South African batsmen found it tough to score against Broad.

Broad who bowled an excellent four-over initial spell came back at the death and took the last two wickets to give England a memorable win. Broad finished with figures of 4/15 and was one of the chief architects of England’s win.

#3 6/46 vs India, Trent Bridge – 2011 (Test)

Stuart Broad had a wonderful game as he picked up 8 wickets and also scored more than 100 runs across the two innings.

Stuart Broad didn’t have a great start to the year 2011 in all formats. He was ruled out of the Ashes and the subsequent ODI series in Australia due to an injury. He returned for the World Cup and except for one spell, he had a poor tournament.

He then didn’t have the best start to the home season as he picked up just 8 wickets in 3 Tests against Sri Lanka. But the one against India was definitely a special one where he turned things around. In the first Test at Lord’s, he took 7 wickets (4/37 and 3/57).

In the second Test, Stuart Broad produced a match-winning performance. In the first innings, England were reeling at 117/7 (which soon became 124/8) when Broad came out to bat. He struck an excellent 64 to drag England to 221. And then he produced a magnificent performance with the ball. He first took the wicket of Sachin Tendulkar.

And then he wreaked havoc with the second new-ball. India were coasting at 267/4 (with Rahul Dravid and Yuvraj Singh well set) before Broad ran through the middle and the lower middle-order. He ended up with 6/46 and in the process also took a hattrick (with MS Dhoni, Harbhajan Singh and Praveen Kumar being the three batsmen). India were bowled out to 288 and thanks to Broad’s efforts the lead was restricted to just 67.

In the second innings, Broad once again proved handy with the bat as he scored a quickfire 42 before taking another couple of wickets adding to his 6-fer in the first innings. He was awarded the man if the match for his all-round show.

#2 6/17 vs South Africa, Johannesburg – 2016 (Test)

Broad's 6/17 blew away the South African top-order.

This performance came during England’s tour to South Africa in 2015/16. England had won the Boxing Day Test comprehensively and the played out a high-scoring draw in the next one. But more importantly, they were still 1-0 up in the 4-match Test series.

In the third Test at Johannesburg, South Africa batted first and posted 313. England in response got 323 and got a meagre 10-run lead. Stuart Broad who was feeling sick in the first innings then came into his own.

He bowled a two-over spell before lunch (on Day 3) and gave away 9 runs. But after lunch, he just ripped through the South African top-order. He bowled 8 overs unchanged after lunch and took 5 wickets for just 5 runs (8-6-5-5 were his post-lunch figures). He took the wickets of every single top 6 South African batsman. Broad troubled every Proteas batsman and moved the ball both ways. His consistency was brilliant and he had figures of 6/17 which helped England bowl the hosts out for just 83.

England chased down the meagre target of 74 with ease and Broad was adjudged the Man of the Match.

#1 8/15 vs Australia, Trent Bridge – 2015 (Test)

This is one spell which will forever be etched in the memory of almost every cricket fan. It was cool morning at Trent Bridge in Nottingham and under cloudy skies and a greenish track, England who were 2-1 up in the series won the toss and elected to bowl first.

Broad who was leading the England attack in the absence of James Anderson, struck early as he gave England a dream start dismissing Chris Rogers and Steve Smith in the first over and in the process also got his 300th Test wicket. And then it was just a procession.

Broad ran in hard and hit the right areas and kept finding the edge. Every wicket that Broad got was caught behind (in the slips or by the wicket-keeper). It was seam bowling of the highest quality as he ran through the entire Aussie batting line-up in less than 10 overs. He bowled an unchanged opening spell and finished with stunning figures of 8/15.

Broad who had taken just 7 wickets in 3 Tests in the lead up to the Trent Bridge game blew away Australia’s chances of retaining the Ashes. Australia were dismissed for 60 inside 90 minutes on the first day and hence, never recovered. Joe Root slammed a century while Steven Finn took a 6-fer in the second innings to help England complete a thrashing as they won by an innings and 78 runs to regain the Ashes.

But there is absolutely no doubt that this spell of 8/15 from Stuart Broad will go down as one of the finest in Ashes and Test cricket history.