England seam bowler Stuart Broad has taken his 500th Test wicket thanks to a superb delivery to trap West Indies opener Kraigg Brathwaite LBW.The 34-year-old becomes only the second English bowler to achieve the feat, with teammate and partner in crime James Anderson currently sitting on 589 wickets.With England needing to bowl the tourists out on the final day at Old Trafford to win the series, Broad got England off to a flying start in typical fashion.A fierce delivery kept low and struck Brathwaite on the pad right in front of his middle stump. It couldn’t have been any more plumb for the Nottinghamshire right-armer, as he carted away with his usual ‘Celebrappeal’.For Brathwaite, however, it’s an unwanted accolade to hold. The Barbadian batsmen fell victim to James Anderson as the Lancashire right-armer also notched his 500th Test wicket at Lord’s back in 2017.Broad’s milestone made it 500 wickets in just 140 Tests, with only six bowlers having taken more scalps. The bowler needs just 19 more wickets to catch the great West Indies’ fast bowler Courtney Walsh, and just a mere 301 more to catch the leading wicket taker Muttiah Muralitharan.
His best spell of bowling came on his home ground as his remarkable 8-15 saw England bowl out Australia for just 60 as they went on to regain the Ashes.
Broad had been left out of the first Test of this series and made his frustrations no secret as England looked to the pace of Mark Wood and Jofra Archer. He returned to the side for the second Test as England levelled the series thanks to an incredible performance from the world’s best all-rounder Ben Stokes.
Back to today’s play and needing eight wickets for victory, Brathwaite and Hope, along with brief showers earlier on in Manchester, began to frustrate England as the pair dug in.
Broad’s milestone delivery dismissed the opener before he was in the action once more, taking a good catch at silly mid-on to dismiss Shai Hope who looked to take on Chris Woakes.
Due to more rain the players took an early lunch, with the tourists battling for a draw and finding themselves 84-5.