During a memorable day at Edgbaston in 2022, in the adjusted fifth Test match between England and India, Stuart Broad delivered Test cricket’s costliest over, leaking 35 runs. Remarkably, Indian skipper Jasprit Bumrah scored 29 of these runs, outdoing Brian Lara’s previous record of 28 runs off Robin Peterson’s over in 2003—the highest in Test cricket until this incident.
Bumrah is known for his impressive bowling, but showed on this occasion that he can dominate with the bat too.
Breaking Down the 35-Run Over (4, 5w, 7nb, 4, 4, 4, 6, 1)
The over began with Bumrah edging a four on a hook shot that evaded fine-leg. Broad then bowled a bouncer that sailed past keeper Sam Billings for five wides. A combination of a top-edge over third man for six and a no-ball added seven runs off the next delivery.
Bumrah continued his assault with three successive fours, using a full toss, an inside edge, and a power shot to square leg. Broad’s nightmare over continued as Bumrah dispatched the next ball for a six over deep backward square leg, cementing this as Test cricket’s most expensive over. On the final delivery, Broad managed to limit Bumrah to a single, offering a brief moment of relief.
The most expensive over in the history of Test cricket!
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) July 2, 2023
Jasprit Bumrah smashed Stuart Broad for 35 runs on this day last year. pic.twitter.com/7G5Bvdh52H
Bumrah concluded his fiery cameo with 31 runs off 16 balls, helping India reach a total of 416 before being dismissed by James Anderson, who claimed his 32nd five-wicket haul (five for 60) in Tests, by taking out Mohammed Siraj. But his innings was memorable for being the most expensive over bowled in test cricket.
Stuart Broad Holds the Record for the Most Expensive T20 Over Too
This costly over wasn’t Broad’s first entry into cricketing notoriety. He had previously conceded 36 runs in a T20 International over to India’s Yuvraj Singh during the 2007 T20 World Cup in Durban, where Singh achieved six sixes in a single over. This T20 record was matched in 2021 when Kieron Pollard of the West Indies hit Akila Dananjaya of Sri Lanka for six consecutive sixes, mirroring Yuvraj’s feat.
