NZ v ENG: Broad and Anderson surpass Warne and McGrath with record-breaking haul; Stokes hits most sixes in Tests

Mount Maunganui (New Zealand): On a record-breaking day, England duo Stuart Broad and James Anderson made history on Saturday by claiming the record for most Test wickets as teammates from Australian greats Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath.

The pair overtook their Australian rivals when Broad clean-bowled Devon Conway early in the final session of the ongoing first Test between England and New Zealand at the Bay Oval.

England had another record to talk about as skipper Ben Stokes became the batter with the most sixes in Test cricket, surpassing the record held by England’s current coach Brendon McCullum.

Stokes on Saturday struck his 108th six on the third day of the first Test against New Zealand, overtaking McCullum, who has struck 107 sixes during his career.

He then added one more six to his tally and now leads the list with 109 sixes. He is only the third batter in the history of Test cricket to hammer more than 100 sixes during their career. Former Australia wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist was the first batter to cross the 100-sixes mark in the longest format of the game.

Anderson and Broad continued England’s record-breaking spree in the first Test.

It was a record-breaking 1002nd Test scalp as teammates for Broad and Anderson, as the pair overtook the long-standing record that was previously held by McGrath and Warne (1001), the ICC informed in a report on its official website.

Sri Lanka’s Muttiah Muralidharan and Chaminda Vaas are third in the list with 895 scalps together while the West Indies duo Courtney Walsh and Curtley Ambrose are next in the list with 762 wickets.

While Anderson debuted at Lord’s against Zimbabwe back in May of 2003, the evergreen 40-year-old had to wait until the end of 2007 when a then 21-year-old Broad won his first cap against Sri Lanka in Colombo.

Since then both Anderson and Broad have proven time and time again to be among the most formidable quicks in Test cricket and the pair are among a group of just seven players to have amassed more than 500 wickets individually at the Test level.

And the majority of those Test scalps have come with their partner in crime on the same side, as they are yet again for the opening match of the two-game Test series against New Zealand.

–IANS