Joe Root said said that James Anderson and Stuart Broad were two of the greatest English bowlers and the young players in the team get to learn a lot.
England cricketers. (Photo by Martin Rickett / POOL / AFP)
England captain Joe Root heaped praises on Stuart Broad after the veteran speedster guided England to a 2-1 series victory against the West Indies and reached the milestone of 500 Test wickets. Broad returned with a 10-wicket haul in the final Test at Old Trafford as Englad defeated the Windies by 269 runs.
Broad, who was dropped from the first match at Rose Bowl, proved instrumental in England’s turn around in the three-match rubber as they won two back-to-back Tests. Broad was the sensation and was also rightly adjudged the Man of the Series, moments after he had become the fourth pacer to take 500 scalps in red-ball cricket.
“For him to come back into the team and have such an impact is a testament to how good a player he has been for England over a long period of time,” said Root in the post-match presentation ceremony aa quoted by IANS.
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“500 Test match wickets is a phenomenal achievement. It sort of sums Stuart up, he gets on those really hot streaks and makes a big impact in games. Really pleased for him to get to that milestone,” he added.
Root further said that it was a privilege for him to be playing alongside Broad and Anderson, who is 11 wickets shy of becoming the first pacer to take 600 take Test wickets. The skipper said that they were two of the greatest English bowlers.
“We are looking at two of England’s best bowlers of all time and to be playing in the same team as both of them, we have got to understand how lucky we are right now to be watching them going about their business. It’s a real privilege to play alongside both Jimmy and Stuart,” Root said.
Meanwhile, chasing a mountainous score of 399, West Indies never showed the intent to reach the target or even bat the entire Day 5. Chris Woakes and Broad rattled through the Windies batting line up and returned with match-winning spells. While Woakes returned with 5/50, Broad followed up his first-innings figure of 6/31 with 4/36 on the final day.
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