Stuart Broad could be named in England squad for West Indies Test

Stuart Broad could still end up smiling when the England team to face West Indies in the final Test of the series is named this morning.

The pace ace is widely expected to be rested for the clash, which gets under way at Edgbaston this afternoon.

The hosts have an unassailable 2-0 lead in the best-of-three series and, as with fellow bowler James Anderson, many believe Broad will be told to put his feet up ahead of the South Africa clash later in the summer.

However, England skipper Andrew Strauss claimed Broad, who’s taken 14 wickets at 21 in the series, could well take the new ball in Birmingham and bamboozle the Windies once again.

“You are always making decisions as to what you’re starting XI’s going to be,” he said. “Stuart’s obviously in the 12 so he’s got a chance of playing.

But clearly Jimmy Anderson’s missed out on this one and with good reason.

“It’s obviously a tough thing for any player not to play in a Test match but with the schedules as they are in international cricket, from a management point of view, you’ve got to manage your resources cleverly.”

Like any fast bowler on a good run, it’s known Broad would rather play than sit it out. However, Anderson’s disliking for putting his feet up when there are Test wickets up for grabs didn’t prevent him from the ‘chop’.

Strauss added: “The last thing you want is someone to be playing to the extent that they’re dead on their feet and then get injured and are out for months. That’s what we’re trying to avoid and, by missing the odd game here and there hopefully, that’ll allow that not to happen.”

Meanwhile, Windies captain Darren Sammy has told his team to go out and prove they’re a good side. The tourists have shown patches of fine form in both matches so far without ever really threatening England for a sustained period.

But Sammy wants that to change, saying: “We came here knowing it would be tough. We’ve only got one Test match left and we’ll try and get a win. If we come to England and win a Test against the number one ranked team it is still an achievement for us.

“So we’re going to go all out in this Test match to try to do so.”