Stuart Broad: England seamer ready to give ‘heart and soul’ in first Test against New Zealand at Lord’s | Cricket News

Stuart Broad: “Give everything to this week, train hard and, if I get in the team, everything will be left on that field”; watch the first Test between England and New Zealand live on Sky Sports Cricket and Main Event from 10am on Thursday

Stuart Broad says he’s ready to give his “heart and soul” for England and leave everything on the field if selected for the first Test against New Zealand at Lord’s on Thursday.

Broad and James Anderson were both left out of England’s most recent Test series, in the West Indies in March, despite sharing a combined 1,177 Test wickets between them.

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But the 35-year-old told reporters Tuesday that, despite the omission, he was able to keep a positive mindset after discussions with Nottinghamshire psychologist Chris Marshall.

“No, not at all,” Broad said when asked if he feared for his Test future. “I still felt like I had a lot to offer to the team.

“As a professional sportsperson, if you don’t believe you’re one of the best bowlers in the country then you’re stuffed, aren’t you? My mindset was still that I was in the best bowling group, particularly in England.

“Missing out on the West Indies was disappointing. But my approach was to take March off, chill out, and get really fresh, buzzing to play and come back with Notts ready to strike at the right time.

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England fast bowler and Nottingham Forest fan Stuart Broad says the football club’s promotion to the Premier League is huge for the city and he will attempt to find the time to see them play.

“I’ve actually done a lot of work with Chris Marshall, the Notts psychologist, on my mindset, because I think that’s the most important thing for me going forward.

“Rather than going through the summer and thinking, ‘I really want to make sure I’m fit for that second Test of the South Africa series’, life doesn’t work like that.

“It’s very much a case of be grateful for what I’ve got this week, give my heart and soul for this week, and then if I’m a bit stiff and sore next week or don’t play, they want to give a new bowler some experience, then great.

“Give everything to this week, train hard and, if I get in the team, everything will be left on that field.

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Watch Stuart Broad take seven wickets in 11 overs to inspire England to an incredible 170-run win against New Zealand at Lord’s in 2013.

“I said to Jimmy, whether we get 0-100 or 5-30, the performance doesn’t matter right now, it’s all about us giving everything to the England shirt and the environment.

“We’re good enough that the results will look after themselves in the long run anyway.”

Broad added: “I feel like I’m bowling well and I’m ready to have an impact on England winning games again.”

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England’s new Test head coach Brendon McCullum hopes his team can help restore the popularity of red-ball cricket.

Thursday’s game against reigning World Test champions New Zealand is the first of a new era with Ben Stokes as captain and former Black Caps skipper Brendon McCullum as head coach.

Speaking to Sky Sports, Broad said: “There’s an excited feel to the group.

“We know Brendon has had incredible success as a player and a leader in New Zealand. He has gone into coaching and has a really clear mindset on how he wants cricket to be played.

“You can see he had a great stamp on New Zealand cricket and hopefully he can have that stamp on English cricket.

“We all went to St George’s Park last week for a couple of days, got together, had a team meal that night, and there is a lot of energy and focus to get going for a busy international summer.”

Watch England take on New Zealand in the first Test, from Lord’s, live on Sky Sports Cricket and Sky Sports Main Event from 10am on Thursday.