Onus on Broad to lead England's line

St Luke probably was not thinking of Stuart Broad when he wrote "he to whom much is given, much is expected" but, for much of his career, it has seemed a relevant phrase.

When Broad burst into international cricket as a gangly 20-year-old, he seemed to have it all. Height, decent pace, an ability to move the ball off the seam or in the air and natural timing with the bat that suggested he could become something approaching a great player. The potential was immense.

To a large extent, that promise has been fulfilled, too. Aged 29, he goes into fourth Investec Test on his home ground of Trent Bridge requiring one wicket to become the fifth England bowler to claim 300 Test victims. By any standards, that is a fine achievement.

What is more, he could reach the milestone in a match attended by his parents and grandmother that secures England the Ashes. It would be the fourth time he has played a part in an Ashes-winning team. Add to that a winners' medal from the 2010 World T20 and a CV that includes spells in teams that went to No. 1 in all formats and it has been quite a career.

But the nagging sense has remained that perhaps it should have been just a little bit better. The sense has remained that Broad, while developing into a very good bowler, has never quite developed into the great cricketer we once thought he could.

It would be unfair to say he delivered perfunctory spells - his passion is greater than that - but it does seem fair to suggest there were times when he weighed up his workload and his future commitments and delivered spells that kept them in mind.

He probably cannot be blamed for such a judgement call. England's schedule has been greedy and self-defeating for many years and Broad is one of very few to have remained a regular in all three formats. The only bowler to have delivered more overs in international cricket over the last five years is his new ball partner.

He might develop into that great bowler yet. Certainly in this series, Broad has been the most consistent of the England bowlers and looks to have matured considerably. Maintaining a noticeably fuller length, he has not always gained the rewards he deserved, but has challenged the batsmen throughout. Only Josh Hazlewood has taken more than his 12 wickets.

There was a time, not so long ago, that Broad might have gone missing in conditions such as those England encountered at Lord's. There was a time when his spells would have been littered with short balls - balls that look decent from the boundary but do nothing to threaten the batsmen - or when his pace would have dropped and it would have become clear that he was trying to protect his figures.

But not this year. On a flat, slow wicket, he continued to challenge the batsmen delivering 27 probing overs and eventually finishing with four wickets. It appeared he had developed into England's attack leader.

That is probably just as well. For at Trent Bridge, for the first time since June 2011 and only the fifth time in his entire career, Broad will not have James Anderson at his side. Not on the pitch, anyway. Anderson remains with the squad and will be on hand to offer advice on the surface on which he has claimed 53 wickets in eight Tests at an average of 19.24.

But on the pitch, Broad will be expected to lead the way for a relatively young and inexperienced attack. And while he is keen not to over-think that extra responsibility, he knows it will fall to him to talk to his less experienced colleagues and instil the same lessons he has learned over the course of his long career. His communication skills may be as important as his bowling.

"It is going to be a different attack obviously without Jimmy," he said. "But it's important not to apply too much pressure on myself.

"What we do as a partnership is we talk all the time. At Edgbaston on the first morning we tried to swing it for two or three overs and then, when we realised what the conditions were, we tried to wobble it and got more success out of that.

"So it will be important the bowling unit talk proactively in this game. That is what I will try and lead. We will always be talking about this wicket. That is what Jimmy and I do naturally, so I will have to be a bit more conscious of that this week."

Most of all, Broad knows England must not waste the new ball. While there was a time when he and Anderson were liable to bowl a little short and not force the batsmen to play, he has learned that it is essential to put new batsmen under pressure immediately and give them no opportunity to settle.

"We have to make sure that we are right on the money for those first 20 balls," Broad said. "Our batsmen always say to us those first 20 balls are the most dangerous time, so if you are talking about a plan make sure you get it right early on."

It remains likely that Mark Wood will be the man to replace Anderson. Wood came through training for the second day in succession on Tuesday and bowled with good pace in the nets. His ankle remains a slight concern, but it would be a surprise if he does not play.

England appear, at present, to have decent strength in depth. Both Mark Footitt and Liam Plunkett looked a handful in training with Footitt bowling Ian Bell, leaving one that looked as if it were angled across him, with a beauty that swung in sharply. Plunkett, generating impressive pace, also bowled Adam Lyth with a full ball that swung and found the edge of Lyth's bat.

The pitch, at this stage, resembles the one at Edgbaston far more than it does those at Cardiff or Lord's. After the bore draw here last year, it seems unthinkable that the club would risk another deathly slow surface. Given good weather, it seems there is a real prospect of another three or four-day game.