England's Stuart Broad (C) celebrates his five wicket haul
©Reuters
<
>
Cricket World Rewind: #OnThisDay – Stuart Broad's best ODI figures destroy South Africa's batting line-up at Trent Bridge
August 26, 2008 - 5/23 against South Africa remains Broad's only 5-wicket haul in ODI cricket.
Having lost the first match by 20 runs on the tour of England in 2008, South Africa decided to bat first in the second ODI in order to start afresh. However, with Stuart Broad accounting for each of South Africa's top three in Herschelle Gibbs, Graeme Smith and Jaques Kallis by the eighth over, it became clear that it was not going as planned for the visitors.
Broad, who hadn't been at his best of late, drew first blood by getting Herschelle Gibbs caught behind in his 2nd over of the day. Graeme Smith also met a similar fate in his next over.
Andrew Flintoff accounted for the wickets of AB de Villiers and Mark Boucher by pushing them on the back foot with quick bouncers and then getting the better of them with quick full deliveries.
Kevin Pietersen, having been recently appointed captain, had done a good job in bringing about a change in fortunes for England. He made some stand out moves by bowling out Broad in just one spell and holding back Steve Harmison for the Protea tail-enders.
After having JP Duminy caught by Matt Prior, Broad pocketed his final dismissal of the day with Johan Botha also getting caught behind. Not only Broad registered his best ODI figures, it was also a great day at office for Matt Prior.
Prior's stocks were on the rise in the England side of late and brought about a test call-up for the wicket-keeper shortly. Prior took six catches behind the wickets, equalling Alec Stewart's record who had managed to do it against Zimbabwe.
Broad had picked up a few 3-wicket hauls and one 4-fer in his ODI career till then. This was his first and only 5-wicket haul in ODIs as England blasted out South Africa for just 83 within 23 overs.
The home side did not take long to chase down the total with Matt Prior looking like a man on a mission. He remained unbeaten on 45 off 36 deliveries with 6 fours and a massive six off Makhaya Ntini to finish off the game, batting at a strike rate of 125. Sensibly, fellow opener Ian Bell dropped anchor with an unbeaten knock of 28 off 51 deliveries with 4 fours as the two added 85 runs within just 14.1 overs to take the team over the line.
As the fifth and final match of the ODI series ended without a result, England clean swept South Africa by 4-0 in the series, winning by comprehensive margins.
On the back of his five-wicket haul, Stuart Broad ended as the second-most successful bowler in the series, behind Andrew Flintoff, with 8 wickets from 5 matches at an average of 18.12 and an economy of 4.37. This was the best of Broad in England blues.
Recently, Broad was in the limelight after not being picked for the first test against West Indies this summer. Expectedly, he minced no words while reflecting on being left out. “I’m frustrated, angry and gutted. It’s difficult to understand," Broad said in a Sky interview.
With 68 wickets in 20 Test matches at an average of 26.13 and a strike rate of 54.8, Broad was already England’s highest wicket-taker in the last two years. He's only taken that a step further with a super successful summer. Having just reached the milestone of 500 test wickets, Broad is going as strong as ever.
© Cricket World 2020
Bell to continue as Batting Consultant
08 March 2023
