“I’d love to be involved in the Champions Trophy on home soil”
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Pace bowler Stuart Broad has admitted that he has his sights set on representing England at the Champions Trophy in June and the Ashes in November.
Broad is almost certain to travel to Australia for the Ashes as he is one of England’s go-to seamers.
However, the same cannot be said about his chances of playing at the Champions Trophy as the 30-year-old has not played ODI cricket since February last year.
Despite having been away from the 50-over format for over a year, Broad still believes he has a future in ODI cricket, especially as he is England’s third-highest wicket-taker in the format with 178 scalps. Only James Anderson and Darren Gough are ahead of him with 269 and 234 wickets respectively.
“I was (equal) fastest to 100 one-day wickets for England (with) Darren Gough and at the age of 30,” Broad wrote in his column for the Daily Mail. “I still firmly believe I have something to offer on the international stage.
“I’m looking forward to playing some first-class cricket for Nottinghamshire before focusing on the white-ball game with a view to forcing my way back into contention for the England one-day squad for the Champions Trophy. I’ve got a proven track record in white-ball cricket.
“There’s a real buzz about the current England one-day side and I’d love to be involved in the Champions Trophy on home soil.”
As for the Ashes, Broad will no doubt have his sights set on the highly-anticipated series, but he will first have to get through England’s summer at home, where they will play Test series against South Africa and the West Indies.
“England’s coach Trevor Bayliss has told me I need to approach this season with the Gabba Test in the back of my mind,” he wrote. “The old sporting cliché of taking one game at a time still applies but you need to tailor your training to ensure you are absolutely in tip-top shape when the Ashes kick off later this year.
“Those of us who were on the last tour (to Australia), when the team fell apart very quickly, will have a point to prove against a very good Australia side who put up far more resistance in India over the winter than we did.
“The recent Australia and India series was a feisty one but there’s nothing wrong with that. It showed both teams cared and I love watching that kind of competitive in-your-face Test cricket. Steve’s Smith’s men will take some beating in Australia, no doubt.”
In order to retain the coveted urn, Broad acknowledged that England have to be more consistent as last year, they beat South Africa 2-1 in a four-Test series before taking down Sri Lanka 2-0.
However, things began to go downhill after that as they drew 2-2 with Pakistan and 1-1 with Bangladesh before being thrashed 4-0 by India.
“I’m sure we’ll play with a smile on our face under Joe Root’s captaincy but you have to be able to play different ways to reflect the situation of the game,” Broad wrote. “We probably haven’t been good enough at choosing our moments to attack in recent years and that’s why our results have been frustratingly inconsistent.
“We need to get that balance right because Australia will expose any weaknesses.”