England boosted by options

England coach Peter Moores has a multitude of bowling options © Getty Images

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England return home from their Test series triumph in New Zealand confident they now have a bigger pool of international-class bowlers to choose from for the summer campaign.

Coach Peter Moores and the rest of the squad set off with thoughts drifting to the summer’s challenges following their first overseas series win in three years.

Moores’ first job on arriving back will be to identify an attack for the opening npower Test against New Zealand at Lord’s on May 15 for the start of the three-Test series.

Later in the summer calendar there is the stiffer challenge of attempting to match South Africa in four Tests and England will need an attack capable of subduing their dangerous batting line-up.

But Moores believes there is the talent available, with Stuart Broad breaking through as a potent talent during the recent series to battle it out with James Anderson, out-of-favour duo Steve Harmison and Matthew Hoggard, and the returning Andrew Flintoff.

“Outside of the team now you’ve got people like Harmison, Hoggard and Flintoff, who are experienced Test match cricketers, and that makes for a very competitive environment because the side which have just played have won two Tests in a row,” enthused Moores.

“From a bowling point of view there is a broader base to select from which is very healthy.”

England are willing to remain patient before they look at Lancashire all-rounder Flintoff, who is back playing again after a fourth operation on his troublesome left ankle, while Hoggard and Harmison return to county duty at the start of the season.

Andrew Flintoff is back in the England frame © Getty Images

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But England could potentially have enough bowling options to pick a bowler for an individual ground based on a history of success on that particular pitch.

“The first key is to make sure all those bowlers are bowling well and playing well in county cricket if they’re not in the international set-up,” said Moores.

“We know certain bowlers have good records in certain places, so for instance Harmison has a good record at Old Trafford.

“It would be nice to have that challenge of fit bowlers bowling well and be able to have to weigh up our options. It’s good for the players for it to be competitive and also we know that quick bowlers get injuries so we need cover.”

There is no doubt, though, in captain Michael Vaughan’s mind that England have found, in 21-year-old Broad, a bowler capable of cementing a place in the side for a long time.

The Nottinghamshire seamer finished the series against New Zealand with eight wickets from two Tests, but made key contributions to both victories in Wellington and Napier which sealed the series.

"Stuart Broad is a massive talent and very easy to captain, and for a 21-year-old you don’t get that very often,” revealed Vaughan.

“You don’t have to speak to him much - just a little word in the ear every now and again - but he really does seem to know what he’s doing. For a 21-year-old that’s very impressive.

Stuart Broad is one for the future © Getty Images

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“He also fields well and bats and I expect him to be around the England team for the future. He’s got a bit about him and I thought that spell on the fourth afternoon at Napier was a proper spell of bowling.”

But while England appear to have an embarrassment of riches at their disposal, New Zealand have a couple of weeks trying to finalise a top order capable of remaining competitive in Test cricket without retired former captain Stephen Fleming.

“If you bring fresh blood in they will be battling against a tough set of circumstances going away to England where it can be difficult conditions in early May or do you settle with the tried and tested and hopefully give them one more chance?” said captain Daniel Vettori.

“I imagine there will be some fresh blood in that 15 or 16-man squad, but in the end whoever is given the job has to step up and perform.

“From five down we’re a settled side and a good one and we have a good set of bowlers and if we can set that up with a good set of openers, three and four then we can make ourselves into a really good team.

“Until we do that we’re going to put ourselves in a situation where we need someone to get us out of the mire we’ve been in during the last couple of Tests.”

New Zealand’s selectors are expected to name their squad in the next fortnight following the final round of domestic matches, by which time they will have made a decision about the availability of their Indian Premier League players at the start of the tour.