Broad hopes for better rotation against India

England fast bowler Stuart Broad has admitted that he bowled more than he'd have liked in the two-Test series against Sri Lanka, and hopes spinner Moeen Ali will be used more against India in July.

England fast bowler Stuart Broad has admitted that he bowled more than he'd have liked in the two-Test series against Sri Lanka, and hopes spinner Moeen Ali will be used more against India in July.

By the end of the second Test at Headingley, Broad looked exhausted and in obvious pain from his persistent knee troubles, while Ali did not bowl at Lord's and Leeds as much as was expected, given he was picked as an all-rounder.

Broad said in the <i>Daily Mail</i>: "Between Lord's and Headingley I bowled 108 overs in a week. That's much more than I've been used to in years gone by and I must admit I've never been as sore after a match as I was after Lord's.

"I do feel my knee but with patella tendonitis that's always going to be the case until it burns itself out or it's decided I need surgery.

"With Swanny gone it's a workload we'll have to get to used to, although I think as Mo Ali plays more he'll get more confidence and bowl more overs.

"He gets great revs on the ball. With five Tests coming up against India in rapid succession it's almost certain there will need to be some rotation of our quick bowlers."

Broad took a hat-trick in the second Test, though he didn't realise it at the time, and became only the second England bowler to take two Test hat-tricks. But aside from that spell, he struggled, he conceded.

He added: "Although I was proud to become the first Englishman to take two Test hat-tricks I can't escape the fact I didn't bowl well at Headingley. I really struggled with the Headingley hill and it affected the lengths I bowled.

"Running up that hill feels like a mountain and it made me feel stretched in my strides and that makes my front arm fall away. It's easier bowling down the hill but Jimmy prefers that end.

"We knew we had to bowl fuller but by not being able to get any rhythm it affected the lengths I bowled. That frustrated the hell out of me."

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