Ace England pacer Stuart Broad announced that the ongoing fifth and final Ashes 2023 Test against Australia will be his final match in professional cricket. This means that he’ll retire as the second-highest wicket-taker for England in Tests.

Broad, who made his Test debut in 2007, had played 167 Tests and has over 600 wickets to his name. Broad also played 121 ODIs, picking 178 wickets, and in 56 T20Is, he took 65 wickets. Broad also captained England in T20Is and was part of the 2010 T20 World Cup-winning England side.

The 37-year-old’s retirement announcement was met with tributes and praise from cricket pundits and fans alike.

One of those was Ricky Ponting who called Broad the ultimate Ashes warrior and mentioned that all of his highlight moments came in the Ashes series.

"I am a believer in judging players on longevity and maintaining such high standards at the absolute highest level. He has played 25 consecutive Ashes Tests at home, which is unbelievable in itself. We talk about Ben Stokes being the ultimate warrior but Broad is the ultimate Ashes warrior. All of his best cricket has been played in Ashes series,” Ponting told Sky Sports.

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Ponting said it was the perfect time for Broad to make his exit from the game.

He said: “People's names and reputations are forged in what they can achieve in the Ashes series and he can be mightily proud of what he has achieved. He will be remembered for how good he was in his last series. It is about the perfect time to go."

Apart from Ponting, former India captain and current head coach, Rahul Dravid talked about Broad’s career and complimented the pacer on his longevity in the game.

“I think he has been a terrific bowler. I think his partnership with Jimmy Anderson is something that will always be remembered. I think Anderson and Broad, the whole decade they played for England, really put in some fantastic performances. To take 600 wickets and to play the number of Test matches that he has, takes a special kind of cricketer.

My best wishes to him. Just to congratulate you on an fantastic career. I hope he gets to finish it off in the best possible way that he wants to,” Dravid said to the media after the second India vs West Indies ODI.