England pacer Stuart Broad called time on his illustrious cricket career following the fifth Ashes Test against Australia at the Oval last week.

Broad’s decision came as a shock for many as he didn’t hint at retirement before he actually made the announcement following the third day’s play at the Oval.

On Day 5, the right-arm quick bowed out of international cricket on a high, picking Australia’s last two wickets to seal England’s Ashes levelling victory.

Stuart Broad finished his career with 604 Test wickets from 167 matches and also made handy contributions with the bat, scoring 3656 runs at an average of 18 with one century and 13 fifties. He ranks as the fifth-highest wicket-taker in Test history and second among English bowlers, behind Anderson.

In an interview with the Daily Mail, Broad spoke of the morning after his retirement announcement.

“I woke up and saw a clip of headband-wearing fans in the crowd celebrating a wicket, and I was like, ‘wow’. I’ve always worn my heart on my sleeve but it was seeing what it meant to other people that got me.

“Later, as I took my dog Alfie to the park near where I live, I walked past a house five minutes down the road and there was a headband tied around the railings at the front. I looked up and there were posters in the window saying ‘thank you so much for your career’. It was really cool,” he stated.

England were penalised as many as 19 World Test Championship (WTC) points for maintaining a slow over-rate during the Ashes 2023.

Broad vented out his frustration over the same, saying: “It diminishes the relevance of the World Test Championship, to be honest. It’s been one of the most entertaining series of all time and for England to come out with nine points from a possible 60, the system’s wrong and needs looking at.”

England are currently occupying the fifth place in the WTC standings. The penalisation might have an effect on their chances of reaching the WTC final two years later.