Stuart Broad eyes milestone as England prepare to face West Indies

Stuart Broad has a meaty milestone in his sights as England prepare to face the West Indies.

The 31-year-old is just five Test wickets short of overhauling Sir Ian Botham to move into second place in England’s all-time list.

A three-match series against a raw Windies side looks the perfect opportunity for Broad to overtake ‘Beefy’, arguably the country’s most celebrated modern-day cricketer, and match the feat his pace partner James Anderson managed in 2015 against the same opposition.

It would also mean England’s current attack occupying the top two spots, and although Anderson is four years older than Broad there are hopefully plenty more scalps still to collect.

“I remember when Jimmy overtook Beefy in Antigua and seeing how much that meant to him,” said Broad.

“He’s the biggest player England cricket has ever had, and actually having got to know him over the past few years he’s a top guy as well.

“You realise how much he wants England to do well. You can see he is desperate for us to improve and be competitive – and anyone who has done what he has done against Australia I’ve got a lot of respect for.

“Beefy’s probably an inspiration to me on how to take on Australia. He has been a big influence, not just on bowling but also his mentality on English cricket and on the importance of the Ashes.

“Jimmy’s a great friend of mine. I’ve been lucky to have bowled at the other end and if it wasn’t for him I wouldn’t have as many wickets.

“So yes, it would be great for us to be one and two in the wickets tally for England.”

Anderson is currently 13 wickets shy of 500, while Broad has 379 to his name. So could the dynamic duo go on to reach 1,000 between them?

“It would be nice, wouldn’t it?” added Broad. “But we’ll have to see how long the old bloke wants to go on for.

“He is bowling brilliantly. I know he has a huge hunger for cricket and I want him to carry on as long as possible.

“You don’t get many bowlers aged 37, 38, at the top level. But he’s incredibly fit. He’s a bit of a freak in that way.”

Broad’s big moment could arrive in unusual circumstances in the first day-night Test in this country, which starts at Edgbaston on Thursday.

The Nottinghamshire paceman might, in theory, still be charging in with the pink ball under the lights at around 9pm.

He admitted: “It’s stepping into the unknown completely. I’ve only bowled one ball with the pink ball.

“I just don’t know what to expect. We’re going to have to be so adaptable and figure out what’s going on.

“The exciting thing is we are going in with a clear mind and learning on the job, almost.

“The team which comes out successful this week will be the team which reacts quicker.”