Stuart Broad gets rousing reception, guard of honour on Day 4 of Oval Test; see video

Day 4 of the fifth and final Ashes Test got off to quite the emotional start with England pace great Stuart Broad offered a grand welcome by the crowd at The Oval and a guard of honour by Australia.

Broad, after all, had taken the cricketing world by storm by announcing his decision to hang up his boots for good at the end of the Oval Test, which entered its penultimate day on Sunday. The fourth and fifth days of the fifth Test thus will be Broad’s final days as a professional cricketer.

“Tomorrow (Sunday) or Monday will be my last game of cricket. It has been a wonderful ride and a huge privilege to wear the Nottinghamshire and England badge as much as I have,” Broad said while announcing his retirement,” Broad said after the close of play on Day 3 on Saturday.

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The 37-year-old walked out to bat with fellow pace legend James Anderson, with whom he has had a long, successful new-ball partnership and has played more than a hundred Tests together, as the pair resumed England’s innings from their overnight score of 389/9.

Watch the heartwarming moment here:

Broad had his right arm around Anderson’s shoulder as the two made their way to the edge of the playing area amid a rousing reception from the Oval crowd. The latter then decided to hang back as Broad made his way through the Aussie guard of honour as the opposition players decided to pay tribute to the legendary pacer.

Though England lost their final wicket shortly after start of play, Broad would end up smashing Mitchell Starc for a six in what would be the final delivery that he would face in his career.

The very next over off-spinner Todd Murphy trapped Anderson leg-before-wicket to bring the second English innings to a close, with Australia being set a daunting 384 to win with a little under two days left.

Broad, son of former England Test cricketer and current match referee Chris Broad, made his ODI and T20I debuts against Pakistan in August 2006, and would make his Test debut in December 2007 during the tour of Sri Lanka.

Broad became only the second pacer after Anderson to collect 600 or more Test wickets, achieving the feat during the fourth Test in Manchester. With 602 wickets to his name including two wickets in the first innings of the fifth Test, Broad is set to retire as the fifth-highest wicket-taker in Tests after Muttiah Muralitharan (800), Shane Warne (708), Anderson (690) and Anil Kumble (619).