Stuart Broad became only the third man to score a century for England at No 9 as his eighth-wicket stand with Jonathan Trott helped rescue his side against Pakistan in the fourth Test at Lord’s.
Coming to the crease with England reeling at 102-7, Broad finished the day’s play on 125 not out from 220 balls to help his side recover to 346-7. His partner Trott ended on 146 n.o as the pair put on 244, easily a record stand against the tourists and only two runs short of the all-time England record for the eighth wicket – set 79 years ago.
“I will remember the feeling of getting to a hundred for the rest of my life," Broad said. "And it's nice to be the first Broad on that honours board! I've always said I thought I could score a Test hundred and now, hopefully, I can use this as a stepping stone towards scoring many more. I've been working really hard on my batting and Graham Gooch has been a fantastic help.”
England began the day in desperate trouble as 18-year-old Mohammad Amir ripped through England’s top order to become the youngest ever bowler to claim 50 Test wickets. The seamer removed Alistair Cook, Kevin Pietersen, Paul Collingwood and Eoin Morgan within eight balls and without a run scored.
The ship was initially steadied by Trott and Matt Prior, who helped England to a more respectable 97-5 at lunch. However, Prior was dismissed by Amir almost immediately after lunch before Graeme Swann was sent packing for another duck to leave England on 102-7.
That brought Broad to the middle and the Nottinghamshire bowler – clearly galvanised by his impressive knock of 48 at the Oval – played positively to make light of England’s woes up the order. After three-and-three-quarter hours at the crease, Broad flicked Wahab Riaz for three to bring up his maiden Test ton.
Thanks to Broad and Trott’s stand, England are now in a position they could only have dreamed off after Amir’s impressive spell with the ball at the start of play.
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