Stuart Broad is prepared to take the new ball for England in the absence of the injured Andrew Flintoff in the fourth Test against West Indies, starting on Thursday at Kensington Oval. As the youngest member of the England fast bowling attack, the 22-year-old Broad was expected to be overshadowed by his more accomplished teammates in the series. But he has leapt into the limelight, following the indifferent form of his more senior teammates and looks forward to opening the bowling now that Flintoff has been sidelined with a muscle strain in his right hip. "It is a role I have always hunted in an England shirt, both in one-day and Test cricket," said the blond-haired fast bowler. Broad strengthened his claim to fill the role, following his spell with the second new ball in the West Indies' second innings in the drawn third Test at Antigua, when he removed Ramnaresh Sarwan and Shivnarine Chanderpaul. "I have taken the new ball throughout my county career and it is something I would like to do for England," he said. "It is one of those things which is not just handed on a plate - you have to earn the right to do it. "Obviously with Fred out there is now a chance to take the new ball, and it is one at which I would jump." Broad's progress has been in sharp contrast to the decline of his senior fast bowling teammates. Flintoff continues to be plagued by injuries while Steve Harmison has been inconsistent. Ryan Sidebottom has been battling for the fitness that would return him to the kind of form that made him English Cricketer of the Year, and James Anderson has been erratic. So far, Broad has captured nine wickets at 19.77 apiece - making him England's most successful bowler - and taken a career-best five wickets for 57 runs in the opening Test at Kingston. "You never stop developing as a bowler and I've certainly learned a lot in these last two years of international cricket," Broad said. "Before I came here, I thought about not having to bowl at 87-88 miles per hour. I looked at the likes of Angus Fraser, who just ran it back into off-stump and got a lot of wickets here." Broad, whose father opened the batting for England in the 1980s and is now a respected ICC match referee, is pleased with how things have gone for him in the first two Tests. "Bowling on these slow pitches can improve your skills for when you get back home and hopefully a tour like this can develop me as a bowler," he said. "Certainly, my view has always been to make sure you nail your accuracy and skills, then in time your strength will develop and pace will pick up." As a precocious teenage, Broad had ambitions of following in his father's footsteps, but he sprung up, and decided to try his hand at bowling fast. He may never get the chance to open the batting for England in the future, but he could still fulfill his aspirations about playing a role with the bat at the pivotal No.8 position or bat as high as No.6. He has already posted three half-centuries in his 13 Tests and an average of 28.13 is no mean feat. "I have certainly scored a few handy runs, but I have not progressed, and scored the big runs I would have liked to and be able to make at No.6," he said. "To be honest, you need to be averaging 30-plus at No.6, and I am only averaging in the high 20s. But I feel I can push on and score hundreds. If I could come in at No.8 and get a hundred, imagine how frustrating that would be for the opposition."
