Tuesday 8 July 2014 15:45, UK
Stuart Broad insists confidence in the England camp is high ahead of the Test series with India, despite a eight-Test winless run for the side.
The recent 1-0 reverse to Sri Lanka was the first time England had lost to the tourists on home soil, piling the pressure on captain Alastair Cook head of the five-match series with India.
Returning to his home ground of Trent Bridge, a fortress for England in recent times, Broad is hoping to draw inspiration from England’s 4-0 mauling of Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s men back in 2011, although he admits there has been a notable change of personnel in both camps.
"We lost the series against Sri Lanka but we played a lot of good cricket in that series," he told Sky Sports News.
"We did some brilliant stuff with some debut hundreds and that sort of thing. The confidence is good coming into this series.
"Obviously, the last time India were here it was probably the best series we have played for years, but a lot of that team has changed.
"Some players can take some confidence from that but the majority of players have changed from that series so this is a completely fresh series. We've got to restart and go again."
Broad has also backed captain Cook to find his form again after posting a best score of 28 against Sri Lanka, extending his run without a Test hundred to almost 14 months.
He just needs that change of luck, all cricketers go through it from time to time and it's Cooky's turn. We know he's world class, we know he's played over 100 Test matches with the record he's got and there's no doubt that will change for him.
The Essex man's captaincy has also come under scrutiny with the likes of Shane Warne, Geoffrey Boycott and Kevin Pietersen all criticising the 29-year-old in the wake of a recent run of poor results.
But it is his form with the bat that will draw the most focus in Nottingham, although paceman Broad insists the recent lean run is just part of the game.
"He's obviously worked hard in the nets as Cooky does, he's always first in and last out," Broad said. "He likes to hit a lot of balls pre-series and that's no different this week.
"He just needs that change of luck, all cricketers go through it from time to time and it's Cooky's turn.
"We know he's world class, we know he's played over 100 Test matches with the record he's got and there's no doubt that will change for him."
National selector James Whitaker has suggested that Broad and fellow quicks James Anderson, Ben Stokes, Liam Plunkett, Chris Jordan and Chris Woakes could all see Test action in a packed summer schedule.
The need for a large pack of pace bowlers is emphasised by England's lack of a front-line spinner, but Broad is confident Peter Moores' men will cope.
"We've got 42 days, 25 Test match days, 10 training days, five travel days - (that) only leaves two days without cricket duty," he said.
"A lot depends on how we bowl. If India are getting four or five hundred every innings then the bowlers might have to take a break from time to time.
"But if we're bowling really well and we're only fielding for 80-90 overs an innings, that obviously makes a huge difference on the workload.
"The important thing will be to keep the bowlers as fresh as we can."
He added: "There's a lot of successful Test sides play with a specialist spinner - we've seen that, obviously, with Graeme Swann in the past few years with this England side.
"But South Africa have done it very successfully with a spin bowler that holds an end up.
"It's not a major concern in the near future and it's something the seamers just need to get used to - a bit of extra bowling workload, bowling a bit more when the ball is not doing a huge amount.
"But we're all experienced enough to be able to do that and change our game plans."
