Broad is at bowlers' summit but insists end goal is putting England back on top of the pile

Broad soared to the summit after his stunning 6-17 in the third Test in Johannesburg, figures which included an inspired spell of five South African wickets for one run.

In doing so the 29-year-old followed in the footsteps of Sir Ian Botham in 1980 and Steve Harmison in 2004.

It is a fine reward for Broad’s impressive run of form – he has taken 66 Test scalps at an average of 23.13 in the past year – but he has an even bigger prize in mind.

England relinquished world No 1 status to South Africa at Lord’s in 2012 and, having toppled the Proteas on home turf, Broad wants to help the team climb from its current position of fifth.

“It’s a very special thing for me to be up there,” he said.

“I’m delighted to be at the top of that list because I’ve worked hard to stay fit and I’ve worked hard on the consistency of my bowling, so it is nice to be rewarded with the ranking.

“The congratulations messages I’ve had have been awesome and it shows it means a lot to people and that they care.

“But it is not the end goal and it doesn’t feel like the biggest thing right now because there is so much more going on with the team.

“I’m not being aloof or disrespectful, but there is such a determination in the side to get to No 1.

“There is such a goal for this team to become the best, and we know it is still a way off just now, but give this team another year’s experience and then it really becomes an exciting time.

“We’ve got guys showing glimpses of form, but give them a bit more time and they are going to fly.”

Broad is modest about his newly-acquired status, insisting it flatters him.

Instead Broad cited South Africa paceman Dale Steyn, who has been a regular fixture in pole position in the past several years, but has missed five of the last seven Tests, and his own new-ball partner James Anderson as the standard bearers.

“It might sound odd, but I’m not the best bowler in the world. Dale Steyn is the bowler of our generation,” he said.

“Just have a look at his record, his wickets, his strike-rate, his average. He is the best bowler in the world.

“My dad always talks about Malcolm Marshall being the bowler of his generation; well Dale Steyn is the bowler of our generation.

“And I’ve been very privileged to play with Jimmy for a long time. He is certainly the best bowler England have ever had in my view.

“I’m not going to walk away from this week thinking I’m a better bowler than Dale Steyn or Jimmy Anderson because that is not the case, but it is a nice feeling to have reached this mark through my performances.”

Broad’s superb recent returns in the longer format have coincided with an enforced absence from the limited-overs set-up.

England have moved towards greater separation of their squads under Trevor Bayliss, but Broad insists he wants to play in all forms.

Read Chris Waters’s
 verdict: Page 19.