For any bowler to stay with the current trends and requirements of limited overs cricket in the modern day, it becomes essential to feature in competitive leagues across the world. England’s ever fascinating new ball bowler Stuart Broad is the latest individual to opt for the above-mentioned method and could soon be seen in a few domestic limited overs competitions.
Broad has hardly played limited overs cricket since the 2015 World Cup and has been more of a test specialist. His returns in test cricket have been enthralling since that period, but the desire to succeed in the shorter forms still eludes Broad. With the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy and 2019 World Cup set to be played in England, Broad is geared up to be back in limited overs.
“It’s tricky because I haven’t played any white-ball cricket,” Broad said. “I think I saw a quote saying this squad had been picked on merit and I can’t argue with that at all because it’s not as if I’ve gone out there and taken a certain amount of white-ball wickets. I’m going to have to find a way to do that.”
“I’m going to look at scheduling, whether it’s home or abroad, to try to play some white-ball cricket and there might be a decent opportunity after Christmas this year because there’s not a lot of Test cricket then until I think July. The only way I’ll get back is by playing white-ball cricket and that’s the only way my skills will improve, too,” Broad elaborated.
“I’m going to have to carefully plot how to do it and the schedule next year might massively work in my favor because I think the Royal London Cup is going to be played more in a chunk at the start of the season and I think the Twenty20 competition is played in a chunk too – whereas this year there’s no 50-over cricket for me to play to put my name in the hat. If I suddenly have a belting six weeks of 50-over cricket people might say, ‘Actually this bloke can bowl with the white ball. He has got a hundred-odd ODIs behind him and he could still be in the frame,'” explained Broad.