The departure of Stuart Broad from England’s Test team has created a big void for the Three Lions. This coupled with James Anderson‘s poor Ashes 2023 form is bound to give some headaches to skipper Ben Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum when they pick their side for their next Test series.
England’s next Test series is a few months away: in India in early 2024, a 5-match bumper Test series where Bazball will face probably their toughest challenge against the likes of Ashwin, Jadeja, and Axar on Indian pitches.
Stuart Broad had a fairytale finish as he picked up the last two Australian wickets in the 5th Test at the Oval to level the series 2-2, England avoiding a home Ashes series loss since 2001.
The 37-year-old Nottingham seamer goes away from the game with 604 Test wickets in his career – ending up as the 5th highest wicket-taker in Test cricket and the second-highest among pacers, only behind teammate James Anderson who has a tally of 690 wickets. Stuart Broad featured in 167 Test matches, again the fifth most in Test cricket, and second among pacers.
Three pacers England have who can take Stuart Broad’s place:
Former England batsman Ian Bell picked Ollie Robinson, Josh Tongue, and Sam Cook as the seamers who have the quality to fill Stuart Broad’s shoes.
Robinson is the senior-most among the three with experience of 19 Tests in which he’s taken 76 wickets at a brilliant average of 22, however, Robinson’s fitness is an issue and he’s hardly played three Tests in a row in his career.
“Stuart Broad’s retirement means England need to find a replacement. I think as far as replacing Broad goes, England have options and they are down the road to finding some good operators. Ollie Robinson, of course, comes back into the team,” Ian Bell told Betfair.
Tongue made his Test debut in this home summer, picking a five-fer against Ireland, and did well in the Lord’s Test with 5 wickets in the game on his Ashes debut. Tongue has snapped 177 first-class wickets in 50 FC games. Essex’s Sam Cook is another pacer who has impressed Ian Bell. Cook has taken 258 wickets in 71 FC games at a brilliant average of 19.
“Josh Tongue made his debut this summer and it looked as though he could handle the pressure of a big series. Sam Cook, from Essex, could do a job. I was with him with the Lions in Sri Lanka. He has a high skill level, hits the top of off with consistency like nobody else and his control of length is fantastic.” Bell added.
The 41-year-old Ian Bell also cautioned that becoming successful in Test cricket will take time for these two youngsters.
‘What is key is recognising that guys like Tongue(25) or Cook(26) need time to bed in. You can’t expect either of them to be as good as Stuart straightaway,” he asserted.
