Broad ready to lead from front and stick with winning formula

Stuart Broad has promised he does not intend to “reinvent the wheel” when he starts life as England’s new Twenty20 captain in Bristol today.

Broad is the second of three captains in as many matches against Sri Lanka, taking over the reins from Test captain Andrew Strauss before passing them on to new one-day international leader Alastair Cook on Tuesday.

It will be Broad’s first taste of captaincy as a professional cricketer, having only ever led at schoolboy level, and he does not intend to revolutionise a side who became World Twenty20 champions last year under predecessor Paul Collingwood.

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“I’m going to be very honoured to lead England and I think it’s a very exciting squad,” said Broad, who is fit to play after overcoming a bruised heel and an awkward fall in training.

“I’m going to be diving into the experience and I’m really looking forward to it.

“I don’t think we have to change a huge amount in this Twenty20 side because we’ve had some success. We are World Twenty20 champions and went on an unbeaten run that was pretty much world-record stuff so we have some very good principles that we perform to.

“I’m obviously going to have my own ideas, but we certainly aren’t trying to reinvent the wheel.”

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Broad is unflustered about his lack of captaincy experience, a result of his elevation to senior international cricket at just 20.

That has denied him the chance to lead age group sides or at county level but he feels his experiences with recent England captains have proved even more helpful to his development.

“My captaincy experience has been pretty limited but part and parcel of getting picked for England quite young is that you never have a chance to captain a side at a younger age,” he said.

“But I always have a mindset when I walk out onto the pitch that I have to think like a captain (with) your field placements and what balls to deliver.

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“I’ve been very fortunate to play under the likes of Michael Vaughan, Andrew Strauss and Paul Collingwood, some brilliant captains and I’ve learnt a lot. I feel 100 per cent ready.

“I feel I’ve learnt a huge amount so I don’t think the lack of experience will be a problem.”

Broad, 25 yesterday, admitted Collingwood had been devastated to find out he was a casualty of England’s forward planning, but said the all-rounder had already been in contact to offer his support.