Matt Prior, Stuart Broad Talk Man Down from Jumping off Sydney Bridge

Matt Prior and Stuart Broad, two members of England's Ashes touring squad, were involved in the rescue of a British man who was preparing to take his life by jumping off a bridge in Sydney.

The pair had left a Barmy Army event on Wednesday night when they spotted the man on the bridge. Prior helped pull the man away from the edge of the Darling Harbour bridge, reports Nick Hoult in the Daily Telegraph, while both he and Broad spoke to him for around an hour until police took over the situation.

Broad, linking to the story on Twitter, said:

"

My latest retweet, @MattPrior13 is a best friend of mine and I'm very proud of him. It was a tough situation but so glad he was there

— Stuart Broad (@StuartBroad8) January 8, 2014"

 The paper reports Prior as saying:

"

We just did what anybody would do in that situation. We were trying to help a bloke who was struggling and in a bad way. I look back and I’m just glad we left the bar when we did and we were there for him.

"

Dean Wilson, writing for the Daily Mirror, adds:

"

Prior noticed the young man had taken off his shoes and had thrown his phone, wallet and passport into the water.

The England stumper approached him with caution since he was acting erratically and started a conversation with him.

Moments later he made a motion to jump at which point Prior and [England security officer Terry] Minish grabbed him and wrestled him to the floor on the safety of the bridge.

"

Professionally, the tour has been a huge disappointment for England—particularly for Prior. The tourists surrendered the Ashes 5-0, with Prior dropped midway through the series after an alarming loss of form.

However, the wicket keeper's action may well have saved a life and put the series into some kind of perspective.

In addition, the Mirror report adds that the event they had attended earlier in the evening raised upwards of £8,000 in aid of Broad's charity, the Broad Appeal, which is supporting sufferers of Motor Neurone Disease.