One of the greatest fast bowlers of all time in Test cricket, Stuart Broad is playing his final game for England having announced his retirement in the middle of the fifth and the final Ashes Test at the Oval, out of the blue. Broad, who is the only England pacer to play all six Test matches this summer will bowl for one final time for England on the last day of the fifth Ashes Test with all three results possible.
On Day 4, Broad walked out to bat amidst a standing ovation by a packed crowd at the Oval and a guard of honour by the Australian team, led by skipper Pat Cummins. Broad was unbeaten on 2 at the stumps on Day 3 and made sure he gave the crowd what they wanted with a huge six off Mitchell Starc's final ball of the first over of the day. As it turned out, it was Broad's final ball of his international career with the bat as James Anderson faced all five balls of the next over of off-spinner Todd Murphy, including the wicket delivery.
With that six, Broad achieved a unique feat in Test cricket. Broad became only the second player in the history to hit a six on the final ball he faced in his Test career. He replicated the feat after 39 years as West Indies' Wayne Daniel was the first one to do so against Australia in Port of Spain in 1984. Broad remained unbeaten on 8 as England added just six runs to their overnight score of 389 to set a 384-run target for Australia to chase down to win the fifth Test and clinch the Ashes series 3-1.
The visitors are well on course to achieve the same as they are currently 135 for no loss with 249 runs still to be made on the final day. Only 39.5 overs of play was possible on Day 4, otherwise, the game could have moved even further on the penultimate day.
