'They should drop him again' - David Warner takes a sly dig as Stuart Broad takes his 500th Test wicket

After being dropped in the first Test against West Indies, veteran Stuart Broad made his presence felt in the subsequent two Tests. Broad, in the third and final Test at Manchester, paved his way into the illustrious club of fast bowlers who have bagged 500 wickets in the traditional format.

34-year-old Broad, on the fifth day of the third Test, scalped Kraig Brathwaite to reach the landmark. The pacer became the 7th bowler to surpass the tally of 500 Test wickets and he achieved the milestone in his 14th year of Test cricket.

Australia international David Warner, just when Broad was on the verge of reaching the 500-wicket milestone, had heaped praise on Broad. However, Warner also took a sly dig at Broad saying that the English paceman should be dropped again.

Broad was omitted from England squad in the first Test at Southampton, where visitors West Indies had registered a comprehensive win. Warner joked that Broad should be omitted again when the left-hander is next in England as he paid tribute to the pacer.

Warner’s comment came after he was dismissed seven times by Broad during what was a poor Ashes series for the Australia opener in England last year. Warner said Broad had been ‘outstanding’ in the past year and a half and he could not understand his omission from the first Test.

“I think they should drop [Broad] again. I don’t know why they dropped him in that first game. It would be nice if I was to play there again and he wasn’t playing. I haven’t really been following what’s been happening. I saw that he got a 50 [in the third Test on Saturday] and I think he’s been taking some [batting] tips off Shane Warne, which is weird.

Broad has worked really hard to get to where he is: David Warner

The way he bowls, the way he’s been bowling the last 18 months, has been outstanding,” said Warner as quoted by The Times of India.

“I don’t know what the reasoning was leaving him out in that first Test but he’s come back and taken some wickets. I personally think he’s a world-class bowler and the last 18 months he’s really worked hard on pitching the ball up. He’s obviously got a hell of a record against left-handers and I think the capabilities of him bringing the ball back off the wicket into the left-hander has been another string to his bow.

It’s not by fluke that he’s had success the last 18 months, he’s worked really hard to get to where he is and credit to him. Hopefully I do get another crack against him,” Warner further said.