Cricket drama at its best as Stuart Broad ends England career with miraculous finale

There are people who do not understand cricket, others who think it slow and dull, and some who are just not interested.

If only there were a stadium large enough to gather them together for an attempt to shift their convictions.

The cricket played on Monday at The Oval, London, generated ideal content for this hypothetical event. I would defy the naysayers not to be enthralled by or fail to be caught up in the euphoria.

Tension, error, theater, pain, nerves, brilliance, and uncertainty all coalesced to showcase Test cricket’s ability to captivate.

It was the fifth and final day of the fifth and final Test match of the series between England and Australia. At the beginning of the series, high expectations existed but had been dampened by several controversies and, literally, by rain which caused the fourth match to be abandoned.

As a result of this, England needed to win the fifth match to square the series 2-2. Australia’s captain won the toss for the first time in the series. He asked England to bat first in the knowledge that they usually prefer to bowl first.

In addition, the Australians, with one eye on the weather forecast, may have felt that they could control the game better by choosing to bat second.

England’s first innings total of 283 in 54.4 overs was below par. Early drama came when Moeen Ali, England’s spinning all-rounder, pulled a groin muscle while batting, thus hampering his participation in the rest of the match.

By the end of day two, Australia could only achieve a small 12-run lead, scoring 295 in 103 overs, itself indicative of the different approaches adopted by the teams. At one stage, Australia scored only 54 runs in 26 overs.

On day three, England produced a brilliant display of