Broad shoulders burden of being the rising son in England's attack

Growing up with a cricketing family equipped Stuart Broad with a fierce appetite to succeed, surmises Vic Marks, and Andrew Flintoff's injury has given the Nottinghamshire bowler a chance to stake a claim as a frontline bowler. Read the full interview with Broad in the Observer.

Excerpts:

"I've had to grow up very quickly," he says. "A lot of that was down to me going to Australia for six months after I left school [Oakham School in Leicestershire]. I learned how to be a bloke. I knew no one over there, I had to meet people, play tough cricket. I had to grow up a lot quicker as an 18-year-old than most because I was out in the big wide world, living on my own.

"Sometimes I need to pinch myself and realise I am only 22, I prefer to watch a film in and chill out than go out and have a few beers, which is a bit strange for a youngster, but it's part of the job."

Cricinfo's Andrew McGlashan has also written a piece on Broad. Read more.