"You'll have to wait and see," says Root when asked if Broad will open bowling at Eden Park on Thursday; England captain declares he now feels like "the leader of this team"
Wednesday 21 March 2018 08:31, UK
England Test captain Joe Root has refused to confirm whether Stuart Broad will open the bowling against New Zealand.
Broad has seen the new ball taken away from him in both of England's warm-up games ahead of the two-match Test series, with Mark Wood and Chris Woakes given a go instead.
But Root did not open up on his bowling plans for the first Test at Eden Park in Auckland, which starts on Thursday live on Sky Sports Cricket, which could see the Broad and James Anderson new-ball partnership broken up.
Asked if the 31-year-old will be opening the bowling, Root told Sky Sports News: "You'll have to wait and see tomorrow. I can't give too many surprises away."
A potential move comes after Broad took just 11 wickets and recorded an average of 47.7 in the Ashes defeat in Australia.
But the paceman has spent his break since that 4-0 series loss working on his bowling action and Root has noticed a change in Broad, whose next wicket will be his 400th in Test cricket.
"He seems to have gone away and worked on a few things and looks like he's found some really good rhythm," he said.
"His pace is up; he's getting the ball to move around both ways, which is always a good sign for Stuart.
"When he's able to take the ball away from the right-handers as well as nibble the odd one back, you feel he's always going to be in the game so that's a really good sign.
"He's on the cusp of a very special milestone so we have a very excited senior player in the ranks at the moment."
Root is looking for his first Test series away win since being appointed captain and the 27-year-old feels more confident in the role despite the drubbing in Australia.
He said: "I think it's a natural progression after what's been such a big series and things not going to plan.
"The way we managed to stick together and pull through that, and being in such a good place leading into this series, it does fill me with a lot of confidence.
"I do feel like I am the leader of this team now. I know I've still got huge amounts to learn, I've only been in it less than a year and want to take this team further.
"There are a lot of challenges ahead but it's definitely something that keeps me wanting to improve as a player and as a leader as well."
Watch the opening Test between New Zealand and England. Day one coverage begins at midnight (Thursday 12am GMT) on Sky Sports Cricket and Sky Sports Main Event.
