England pacer Stuart Broad was the best pacer for his team in the first Ashes Test on a flat pitch. He picked up a total of six wickets in the match and will be keen on adding more to his tally at Lord's where a green top has been served. He has so far played four Tests in 2023 and accounted for 22 scalps at a superb average of 23. He also has a five-wicket haul to show for his efforts.
The veteran pacer is at the fifth position in the list of most wickets in Tests in 2023 but has a great chance to climb to second place in the second Ashes Test itself. Nathan Lyon is at the top of the charts with 37 wickets in 7 Test matches. Two more spinners, Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin, follow him with 26 and 25 wickets respectively this year.
Broad is only five wickets away from going past both his Indian counterpart in the Lord's Test and looking at the way he has bowled so far this summer, picking up five wickets might not be a big deal for him. Team India is next playing a Test match on West Indies tour starting from July 12. So there is no immediate threat to Broad once he gets past the Indian duo of Ashwin and Jadeja.
Moreover, Broad is also only 12 wickets away from becoming only the fifth bowler and second pacer in Test history to pick a mammoth 600 wickets. James Anderson is the only pacer to breach the 600-wicket mark in red-ball cricket while the other bowlers to do it before him were all spinners - Muttiah Muralitharan, Shane Warne and Anil Kumble.
