Stuart Broad explains Jimmy Anderson 'clause' that made his retirement decision
Stuart Broad was reassured that his decision to retire at the end of the Ashes was the right one due to Jimmy Anderson’s desire to continue playing for England.
Broad announced his retirement live on Sky Sports following the end of the third day of the fifth and final Ashes Test at the Oval on July 29. The 37-year-old bowler then produced a memorable way to sign off by hitting his final ball for six and taking the last two Australian wickets to ensure the series was drawn 2-2.
He took 604 wickets in 167 Test matches at an average of 27.68 – a record which puts him fifth on the list of all-time top wicket-takers and second among fast bowlers. The only man ahead of him is his long-time team-mate and friend Anderson, who will play on, aged 41.
Broad and Anderson is one of the best partnerships in cricket history and the Nottinghamshire star wanted to be sure his departure would not coincide with his partner in crime calling time on his career.
“It was like an unwritten clause in a contract that Jimmy and I never wanted to finish at the same time,” he told the Daily Mail. “We always wanted an overlap one way or the other, a crossover of knowledge, not 300-plus matches of Test experience disappearing out of the changing room.
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"So, I chatted to Jimmy during the Old Trafford Test and he said he was going to work on loads of different things, would make sure he was as fit as anything going to India this winter and was buzzing about next summer.
"Hearing how excited he was to carry on suggested that it could be time for me to end what was the ultimate partnership, really. One that grew over time. We understood each other probably better than we understood ourselves.”
Stuart Broad dismissed Alex Carey to win the fifth Ashes Test with his final ball (Gareth Copley/Getty Images)Broad’s decision came as a shock to the public, who had spent the summer watching him lead England’s attack by playing in all five Ashes Tests. But after the call became clear in his mind, there was one person he wanted to tell first.
Speaking to Sky Sports, Broad explained: “We had a 9 o’clock bus leave on the Saturday morning and I’d texted Jimmy saying ‘Shall we do a 8.45 coffee run?’ I thought I’d get Jimmy on his own and tell him then. But we got followed by two cricket fans into Starbucks, so I couldn’t get a moment with him. I really wanted to tell him, but I’d be telling these two fans stood by us as well.
“So we got on the team bus about five minutes early, I just said ‘Look, Jim’ and put my hand out, shook it and said ‘That’s me. It’s a really hard thing to say but it just feels the right time’. We had a hug and then I told Sky that night.”
Asked if he was surprised, Anderson replied: “A bit surprised. It was something that we’ve talked a lot about – and I know Stuart was talking about it last summer.
“When I stand back and think about the decision, knowing Stuart as I do, the Ashes was the absolute pinnacle for him, it brought the best out of him, as we’ve seen throughout the years and in the past six weeks, so for him to finish on top, the way he did, the way he played in all five Test matches was incredible. So to see that, it was the perfect way to bow out.”
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