A guard of honour, a six from his final shot and one more day to give the Aussies grief... it could only be STUART BROAD

IT was not just the leaden London skies that rained on Stuart Broad's parade, it was the obstinate Australian batsmen.

- ANDY DUNN

That is what elite sport is all about it does not always follow the script.

But even the weather, Usman Khawaja and David Warner could not put a dampener on the grand farewell of one of Test cricket's greatest fast bowlers.

By the end of a soggy Sunday, there was barely a dry punter in The Oval... earlier, there was not a dry eye in the hospitality boxes where Broad's family and friends had gathered to watch his last hurrah.

And for a while at least, it was some hurrah, Broad descending the steps to a guard of honour with his bowling partner, his mate, his confidant, Jimmy Anderson.

They stepped over the rope, arm in arm until Anderson held back to help out with the ovation that reverberated around south west London.

But the symbolism of the most prolific bowling partnership in cricketing history 1291 Test wickets between them - sharing such a special moment was lost on nobody. And on Jimmy's 41st birthday as well. Broad is 'only' 37 but as he toiled later in the day, it was easier to understand why he is heading for the commentary box after play finishes in this fifth Ashes Test.