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England back Broad's potential

Having added Sajid Mahmood and Liam Plunkett to the corps of fast bowlers vying for England Test places, the selectors have no intention of resting on their laurels.

They are determined to give youth its head, but even so, the inclusion of 19-year-old Stuart Broad in the 25-man England development squad came as something of a surprise.

The former Oakham School pupil, who stands 6ft 5ins tall, has come a long way in a very short period of time.

Less than a year after his first-class debut, he has been part of the National Academy squad, toured the Caribbean with the England A team and played for them on home soil against Sri Lanka.

And although "over the moon" about the latest show of faith in his ability and potential, Broad admitted: "I'm a long way from the finished article."

England coach Duncan Fletcher will now have a say in which matches Broad plays for his club, and just as importantly, which ones he misses.

But that process of careful nurturing has already begun under Leicestershire coach Tim Boon, Fletcher's former assistant with the national team.

"I'm not playing in the C&G Trophy at the moment. Obviously, I'm keen to play as much cricket as I can but, for my body, that's probably not the best thing for me to do.

"I'm playing most of the Championship games at the moment and just taking every game as it comes," Broad said.

If he fails to achieve full England honours, it certainly won't be due to a lack of quality coaching.

He was looked after by former Test batsman Frank Hayes during his schooldays.

And as well as Boon, he has benefitted from the advice of Academy boss Peter Moores, the A team's 'elder statesman' Jon Lewis and England bowling coach Kevin Shine.

"I've got a lot of work to do on my action and consistency, but I'm in the best hands," he said.

"I've been in close contact with Kevin Shine, who's superb and really helping my action bio-mechanically, and I've worked with Jon Lewis a bit on technique."

Broad used to be an opening batsman like his father Chris, who played a starring role in England's Ashes tour triumph of 1986-87 and now travels the world as an International Cricket Council match referee.

But competition for places prompted him to focus more on his bowling and it paid off for both the England Under-19 team and for Leicestershire, for whom he took 30 first-class wickets last summer at a cost of only 27 runs each.

Only 11 fathers and sons have played for England, including Mickey and Alec Stewart, Colin and Chris Cowdrey, Jeff and Simon Jones.

So what does Broad's father think about his latest advance?

"He's in the West Indies at the moment doing West Indies against India. I haven't spoken to him for about two weeks, so he won't have a clue."

On this occasion perhaps ignorance isn't bliss.