Ashes 2023: Stuart Broad timed his retirement call perfectly, says Nasser Hussain

By India Today Sports Desk: Former England captain Nasser Hussain backed Stuart Broad’s decision to retire from cricket while on top of his game and said the call was perfectly timed from the pacer.

Broad announced his retirement from Test cricket on the third day of the fifth and final Test against Australia in the Ashes series of 2023. The announcement came as a shock to many, marking the end of an illustrious career for the 37-year-old cricketer.

Broad had been a formidable force in the cricketing world, having played in 166 Tests and taken over 600 wickets, making him the second-highest wicket-taker for England after James Anderson.

The pacer expressed his desire to end his career with an Ashes match, highlighting his love affair with this iconic cricket series. Broad’s retirement did not mean a lackluster performance in his final Test. On the contrary, he put on a thrilling display, taking Australia’s final two wickets at the Kia Oval, thereby sealing a series-squaring 49-run victory for England. This feat took his final tally to an impressive 604 wickets in his remarkable 167-Test career.

He also hit the final ball he faced for a massive six off Australia’s Mitchell Starc, completing a fairytale end to his career.

Speaking on the ICC Review, Hussain backed the decision made by Broad to retire at the end of the Oval Test and go out on the top of his game.

“Well, that’s the point,” Hussain said.

“I think retirement is, you’d want people to ask, ‘Why not a little bit more?’

“You retire when people are saying, ‘Why are you retiring? rather than ‘Why not?’

“When people start saying that you should be retiring, then you’ve probably gone a bit too far. So I think he’s timed it perfectly. Two days to go, came down to us at Sky (Sports) and said, ‘Yep, I’m done’. And then he had two days.

“But the one thing with Stuart, you know, because he announced his retirement, it’s not like I’m done, I’m checking out. You know Stuart Broad is going to want to win. He’s always been a winner.”