Stuart Broad challenges "X-factor" bowler to step up for England against India
Sky Sports cricket expert Stuart Broad has picked one player to step up for England in 2025.
Sky Sports expert Stuart Broad has challenged Josh Tongue to step up and stake his claim for a regular starting spot for England.
The legendary former England bowler, who claimed 604 wickets in 167 Test matches to cement his status as an all-time great, identified Tongue as someone capable of "X-factor moments".
However, Broad says Tongue needs a big couple of years to secure his place among the bowling attack.
Speaking exclusively to RadioTimes.com, Broad said: "With fast bowling, a lot of it is about fitness and staying on the park. You've got to be on the park to take wickets, you know.
"I'm looking for a big couple of years from Josh Tongue because I played with him against Australia at Lord's, and then he didn't play another Test match until Zimbabwe this year.
"He needs to be someone who strings Test matches together, strings years of international cricket together, because he's got the ability.
"I like how he moves the ball, I like how he can make breakthroughs quickly, can get three wickets in a spell. Those are the sort of X-factor moments you're looking for from a fast bowler.
"He's someone that I've really got my eye on to think: 'Come on, this is a really big four years here. Do everything you can to be as fit as you can to take wickets for England.'"
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Questions have been raised about the state of England's bowling stable, given the retirements of Broad and fellow legend Jimmy Anderson in the last couple of years, plus the long-term injury struggles of Jofra Archer.
But Broad remains positive the current crop can step up. He said: "I think it's inexperienced in terms of amounts of Test matches, but not inexperienced in age, Gus Atkinson, Tongue, [Sam] Cook, [Matthew] Potts. They're not 21 or 22, they've all bowled a lot of balls, so they know what they're doing.
"I've got no concerns over nerves of inexperience in actually bowling. I think it will just be scenarios in games that maybe they need to communicate with each other about and have to lean on the likes of Ben Stokes and Joe Root.
"What Stokes will want is variety in that attack, someone who can bowl bouncers, someone who can bowl 90 miles an hour, someone who can hold a length and bowl 20 overs in a day. In the India series, I don't think we'll see the same three seamers each Test match.
"Hopefully we see something from Jofra Archer, we might see something from Mark Wood, both you'd hope would be on the plane to Australia, but without the thought process that they will play five Tests."
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Authors
Michael Potts is the Sport Editor for Radio Times, covering all of the biggest sporting events across the globe with previews, features, interviews and more. He has worked for Radio Times since 2019 and previously worked on the sport desk at Express.co.uk after starting his career writing features for What Culture. He achieved a first-class degree in Sports Journalism in 2014.
