Stuart Broad Opens Up On His Retirement From Cricket, Says 'Always Wanted To Leave The Game Loving It'

England pacer, Stuart Broad opened up on his retirement decision from international cricket and said that he always wanted to leave the game while loving it and that he has no regrets now regarding the time of announcing his retirement.

While speaking to Daily Mail, Stuart Broad said that he had no doubt and regrets regarding his decision to retire from cricket. Broad further said that the way he finished playing cricket was special to him.

“Since I shook Ben Stokes’s hand and told him my decision, I’ve not had one doubt. Not one regret. Finishing with all my family at the Oval, in the way I did was special and I’ve always wanted to leave the game loving it,” Stuart Broad said.

Stuart Broad added that Alastair Cook inspired him to make such a decision since Cook stepped down even when he could do his job at the best level.

“I’d always retained a bit of a fear of one day playing against an up and coming 20-year-old and them saying: “I heard he was OK, but he’s actually rubbish.” So, I wanted to finish with people thinking I could still do a job. A couple of people inspired me in that regard: Alastair Cook, obviously, with how he stepped down with England and Chris Read because he left Nottinghamshire with every single one of his team-mates telling him, “You could definitely have done another year,” Broad added.

Stuart Broad’s stats for England

Stuart Broad made his Test debut in 2007 against Sri Lanka and went on to play 167 games in which he scalped 604 wickets.

In ODI, Broad played his first game against Pakistan in 2006 and played 121 games for England in which he managed to take 178 wickets. In the shortest cricket format, Broad made his debut in 2006 and played 56 games and took 65 wickets.

On July 29, 2023, Stuart Broad announced his retirement from cricket. His announcement came during the fifth Test match of Ashes 2023 between England and Australia and he said that this would be his last game. The English pacer was 37 years old when he retired from all formats of cricket and had a stupendous career of more than 15 years.