BIG-GAME PLAYER MASON IS SPIN IT TO WIN IT NOW England squad
Small reckons the Nottinghamshire paceman needs to play a dominant part in an Ashes series victory Down Under to place him among the best ever.
Broad, 31, has 388 Test wickets in 109 matches – second only to his new-ball partner Jimmy Anderson.
And former England paceman Small feels a starring role in Australia this winter, in a series that starts in Brisbane on Thursday, would be the cherry on the top of a sparkling career.
When Andrew Strauss captained England to a
3-1 series win in 2010-11, Broad flew home with an abdominal injury after the first two Tests in which he had taken just two wickets.
Although he fared better in 2013-14 with 21 victims in five Tests, it was scant consolation on a nightmare tour when England went down
5-0 to surrender the Ashes.
“The form of Stuart Broad is such a key factor ENGLAND’S rookie leg-spinner Mason Crane has been backed to not only make his Test debut in the Ashes but emerge as a surprise match-winner. Hampshire director of cricket Giles White has overseen Crane’s development at the county in recent years.
And he has endorsed England’s decision to plump for the youngster, 20, over Adil Rashid in the tour party.
Despite Crane’s first-class statistics not being great his wicket-taking abilities impressed when he played Australian club cricket last winter. While Down Under, he worked with former Australia tweaker Stuart MacGill and that whole experience could have a huge impact over the coming weeks. White told the Daily Star Sunday:
“He’s widely recognised as a talented young leg-spinner by many people in the game but there is much more to him to admire. “He has a temperament that you might expect from someone much older as he enjoys the big-game atmosphere. “Opportunities don’t come much bigger than an Ashes tour and knowing him as I do I’m certain he will not want to be there just to make the numbers up.
“Mason will want to play and he will want to contribute. That’s how he is as a competitor, as we saw when he made his England Twenty20 debut.
“The common perception is that England are taking him to play at Sydney only but I’m not so sure. If he does well in the warm-up games, I don’t see why he can’t play more.
“If England are looking to play two spinners, Mason and Moeen Ali would complement each other very well.
“Mo is a key man in the team and his batting and off-spin make him an automatic pick but he is a different spinner to Mason.”
Meanwhile, White also feels another of his stars at Hampshire, James Vince, deserves his second chance after he failed to succeed in the summer of 2016 against Pakistan.
Vince is vying for a place in England’s middle order and White said: “I’m pleased he has another opportunity because he actually scored runs last time but just didn’t go on to the big scores you need to stay there.” Joe ROOT (Captain) Moeen ALI James ANDERSON Jonny BAIRSTOW Jake BALL Gary BALLANCE Stuart BROAD Alastair COOK Mason CRANE Tom CURRAN Ben FOAKES George GARTON Dawid MALAN Craig OVERTON Mark STONEMAN James VINCE Chris WOAKES