No doubting Broad’s faith for Ashes bid

Cricket: Pace bowler believes team is maturing perfectly for winter Tests

Pace bowler Stuart Broad believes England’s cricketers are ready to hit their peak just in time for the Ashes.

Captain Joe Root’s side will travel to Australia later this year looking to retain the urn on the back of series victories against South Africa and West Indies during the summer.

Broad, who had a precautionary scan on a niggling ankle injury yesterday, played his part in those wins and has now amassed 109 Test caps for England.

The 31-year-old feels the team, which has come under scrutiny at times this year with questionmarks still hanging over the make up of the batting line-up, is ready to hit the heights in Australia.

“This is our time as a team, we have been building to this for a while,” he said. “Importantly, we have got experienced players but now we have those mid-experienced players up at 35, 40, 45 Tests and that is when you begin to learn as a player how to get your team out of trouble or how to put your foot on the throat so to speak.”

Speaking at a Chance to Shine event at Downing Street, Broad singled out captain Root and allrounder Ben Stokes for praise and reckons the bowling attack is ready to stand up and be counted.

“It is hard not to be optimistic,” he said. “We have got Joe Root in the side and every time he walks on the field he gets a 50. Ben Stokes? No-one knows what is going to happen but it is very exciting. Mark Stoneman looks quite nice at the top of the order, a very tough character, no-nonsense and plays a simple game, which suits the Australian pitches like Michael Vaughan used to.

“The bowling attack has been relatively consistent, the emergence of Moeen Ali’s bowling has been awesome for us.

“There seems to be someone different in each Test standing up from the bowling unit and that is what we want – actually it is quite hard to pick the six seamers and someone is going to be disappointed when the squad is announced.”

Broad also insisted his ankle issue will not prevent him from playing during the winter and would be ready to turn out sooner – even if he and fellow paceman James Anderson will now be wrapped in cotton wool ahead of the opening Ashes Test in Brisbane on November 23.

“This is our time as a team, we have been building to this”