Broad ready for gruelling India series

England seamer Stuart Broad has insisted the hosts have the bowling depth required to cope with a frenetic Test series against India.

The two nations meet on Wednesday at Nottinghamshire paceman Broad’s Trent Bridge home ground for the first of five Tests condensed into a six-week period.

Both Broad and new-ball partner James Anderson looked tired during England’s recent 100-run second Test defeat by Sri Lanka at Headingley – a result that saw the Islanders claim their first series win on English soil.

And if England are kept in the field for long stretches at a time by a powerful-looking India top order, the pair’s stamina is bound to be tested to the utmost.

England national selector James Whitaker has suggested Broad, Anderson, and fellow pacemen Ben Stokes, Liam Plunkett, Chris Jordan and Chris Woakes could all be rotated during the series in a bid to avoid players being ‘bowled into the ground’ and breaking down injured.

And with England’s squad lacking a frontline spinner following the retirement of Graeme Swann, captain Alastair Cook is either going to have show more faith in part-time off-break bowler Moeen Ali, or hope the quicks run through India in short order if over-bowling of the seamers is not to become an issue.

“We’ve got 42 days, 25 Test match days, 10 training days, five travel days – (that) only leaves two days without cricket duty,” Broad, speaking at Trent Bridge on Monday, told Sky Sports.

“If India are getting four or five hundred every innings then the bowlers might have to take a break from time to time.

“But if we’re bowling really well and we’re only fielding for 80-90 overs an innings, that obviously makes a huge difference on the workload.”

The Sri Lanka series followed England’s 5-0 Ashes drubbing in Australia, but Broad insisted morale remained high among the squad as they prepared to face an India side who were thrashed 4-0 during their last Test series in England three years ago.

“We lost the series against Sri Lanka but we played a lot of good cricket in that series,” he said.

“We did some brilliant stuff with some debut hundreds and that sort of thing.

“The confidence is good coming into this series.”

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