England cricket legend Stuart Broad surprised and stunned Aussie fans with his superstitious act during the final Ashes Test at The Oval. Broad, who had a fairytale finish to his career, bowled England to victory in a series that ended in a 2-2 draw. The veteran pace bowler had a frustrating start to the day, failing to get any breakthroughs in his first 18 overs despite consistently beating the outside edge.
With Australia needing 55 runs to reach their target of 384 with eight wickets down, English minds were reminded of the first Test at Edgbaston where their team couldn’t secure the final two wickets in time to prevent the tourists from recording a miraculous win. In a superstitious move, Broad decided to change the bails at the non-striker’s end just before delivering the last ball of his 19th over. Surprisingly, it worked immediately as Todd Murphy nicked the following delivery to Jonny Bairstow, triggering wild celebrations among English fans.
This act of swapping the bails at the non-striker’s end wasn’t the first time Broad had employed this tactic. In Australia’s first innings, he used the same superstitious act to unsettle Marnus Labuschagne, who initially found it amusing and exchanged smiles with his batting partner. However, Labuschagne’s laughter quickly disappeared when he was caught behind on the next delivery.
Broad’s successful superstitious act was just the beginning of his incredible spell. After dismissing Murphy, he went on to claim the wicket of Alex Carey with the final delivery of his career, bringing his total wicket tally to a remarkable 604, placing him fourth on the all-time list.
While English fans reveled in Broad’s heroics, former Australian captain Ricky Ponting criticized the umpires’ decision to change the ball during the fifth day of the Test match at The Oval. Umpires Joel Wilson and Kumar Dharmasena replaced the ball after the first delivery of the 37th over, stating that it had gone out of shape when Mark Wood’s bouncer struck Usman Khawaja’s helmet. However, Ponting raised concerns about the replacement ball, pointing out that it appeared significantly harder and newer than the original ball, giving England an advantage.
Ponting called for an investigation into the umpires’ decision, questioning whether they were blasé about the ball change or if they were not provided with an appropriate replacement by the fourth umpire, David Millns. He emphasized the importance of choosing a replacement ball that closely matched the conditions of the previous one to ensure a fair game.
In conclusion, Stuart Broad’s superstitious act in swapping the bails at the non-striker’s end proved successful in dislodging Australian batsmen and contributing to England’s victory in the final Ashes Test. However, the controversy surrounding the ball change during the match has raised questions about the umpires’ decision-making process, with Ricky Ponting demanding an investigation to ensure fairness in future matches.
