Why England are going to ruin Stuart Broad

The only time a team should go with five bowlers is when one of them is a genuine all-rounder. By that I mean a “Freddie” Flintoff, although he was more of a No 7 than a 6 in the order. If England don’t want to play Adil Rashid in South Africa, they have to go with Paul Collingwood at 6, Matt Prior at 7 and Broad at 8. That line-up, with Graeme Swann at 9, has depth. Moving Broad and Swann up a place alters things dramatically. For Broad, there is a massive difference between having to score runs because that is what is expected from a No 7 and supporting the others or having a hit without too much responsibility a place lower. England should look at Shaun Pollock and Wasim Akram from the recent past. They had the potential to bat at No 7, but spent a lot of their careers at 8 because they recognised bowling as their more important skill. I would put Mitchell Johnson in that category — he can really hit a clean ball — and Broad as well.