By Tom Harle
Stuart Broad insists that England must select Dan Worrall and backed him to inject much-needed experience into the Test attack.
The standout seamer in county cricket, Worrall was born in Melbourne and represented Australia in 2016. However the 33-year-old holds a UK passport and having played for Surrey since 2022, becomes eligible to represent England in April next 12 months.
Broad is a completely paid-up member of the Worrall fan club and desires to see Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes incorporate him into the England set-up on the earliest opportunity.
“I’m an enormous fan of Dan’s bowling,” said Broad, who has been working with Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) to support the launch of Inside Lord’s, a brand new digital platform providing exclusive content and advantages to cricket fans worldwide.
Set to launch on 1 October, Inside Lord’s offers unique access to Lord’s, including priority international match tickets, discounts, online coaching masterclasses, and more.
Worrall’s Skillset
“He moves the ball consistently – and not only the red ball – he can nibble the brand new white ball around too and has really good skills.
“I like what he does with that wide angle on the crease, he can swing the ball away and nip it back. He’s got a variety of weapons in his armoury.
“There isn’t any doubt he’ll be within the selectors thoughts because you may get a few great years from him. Ultimately, playing for him will likely be about winning Tests and he’s a bowler that might provide help to get 20 wickets for a few seasons.
“I don’t know Dan personally, I’m undecided what his fitness levels are like, or his longevity and mindset, but he’s the standout player in county cricket.”
Latest Era of Seamers
For the reason that retirement of Broad and partner in crime James Anderson, England have blooded a variety of young quicks including Gus Atkinson and Matthew Potts.
Other than seasoned seamer Chris Woakes, the England seam battery that travels to Pakistan for a three-match series accommodates only 19 Test caps.
Woakes helped fill the void with a superb home summer, but England’s second-highest wicket taker thinks Worrall’s input will likely be vital to share the load.
“I believe you mostly need one bowler in your team with experience,” said Broad.
“Chris Woakes played that role this summer, but I assumed he looked very drained at the tip of it, to be honest.
“It’s hard to play each game in that leadership role and it’s very difficult to enter a Test match, particularly when Ben Stokes isn’t playing or bowling, with three very inexperienced bowlers.
“If it goes mistaken and the spinners are inexperienced too, you may lose it in an hour.“I might at all times lean on the side of getting someone with a bulk of bowling experience who knows their role within the team since it’s Test cricket and also you’re playing against one of the best, particularly when India is coming over and so they have a big batting unit.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if Dan got here into the group and didn’t necessarily play every game but got here in to contribute and win matches because someone together with his experience, you may use him for a game, sit him out for 2 or three weeks and if you pick him again, he’ll find a way to deliver right away.”
Jofra Archer Comeback
After two years of injury struggles, Jofra Archer has been successfully reintegrated into England’s white-ball line-up.
But his last Test outing got here in India back in February 2021 and doubts remain over his ability to sustain the workload of red-ball cricket.
“It’s amazing to see Jofra back in an England shirt,” said Broad.
“He’s had a time period to attempt to get the body right but whether that’s for Test cricket, I’m undecided, since the workload is so huge.
“I believe he’ll be on the plane to Australia but how much we see of him, we’ll only really discover in the subsequent 12 months because he’s got to accumulate his overs in ODI cricket.”
Stuart Broad was talking ahead of the launch of Inside Lord’s. Lord’s Cricket Ground’s recent digital platform: https://www.lords.org/lords/inside-lord-s/your-inside-lords
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