ENG v WI 3rd Test, Day 5: Stuart Broad enters 500 club as hosts near series win

Stuart Broad (Twitter)

Manchester, July 28:  Veteran seamer Stuart Broad galloped into elite company as England inched closer to a series win as they had West Indies on the mat on 84/5, still needing 315 runs for a win, at Lunch on a rain-interrupted Day 5 of the third Test at Old Trafford here on Tuesday.

Broad added a fresh feather to his illustrious cap as he became the seventh bowler in the history of Test cricket to take 500 wickets.

The 34-year-old had ended with outstanding figures of 6/31 to break the backbone of the visitors as England took a huge first innings lead. Then, in the second innings, he scalped two wickets in the last session of Day 3 to leave West Indies reeling at 10/2. There was no play possible on Day 4 due to rain.

Broad, who has represented England in 140 Tests, was stuck at 499 at the end of third day and reached the 500 mark on the last day of the Test match after taking the wicket of Kraigg Brathwaite for 19.

Broad became the second Englishman to achieve this impressive feat after partner-in-crime James Anderson, who had also achieved the feat against West Indies in 2017 at the Lord's. Interestingly, Brathwaite was Anderson's 500th scalp as well.

After reaching the milestone, Broad looked at his father, match referee Chris Broad, and acknowledged in support as Broad Sr. smiled.

Sri Lanka's Muttiah Muralitharan is currently the leading wicket-taker in Test cricket with 800 scalps. He is followed by Shane Warne (708), Anil Kumble (619), James Anderson (589*), Glenn McGrath (563) and Courtney Walsh (519).

Broad has also become only the fourth fast bowler in the history of Test cricket to scalp 500 wickets. The top three spots in this list are held by spinners, followed by pacers.

The Windies, meanwhile, failed to alter the script as they kept losing wickets without much resistance.

Shai Hope (31) holed out to Broad off Chris Woakes while Shamarh Brooks (22) inside edged a Woakes delivery to wicketkeeper Jos Buttler for an easy caught behind. The three-match series is locked 1-1.

Brief Scores: England 369 & 226/2d (Burns 90, Root 68*; Holder 1/24) vs West Indies 197 & 84/5 (Hope 31, Broad 3/36)