South Africa vs England: Stuart Broad - I definitely feel like I’ve got better as a bowler

Broad's excellent bowling saw him claim figures of 3-16 which included the wickets of Hashim Amla and AB de Villiers

Stuart Broad celebrates taking the wicket of South Africa captain Hashim Amla (Getty Images)

By any standards, Stuart Broad has had an excellent year of Test cricket. Perhaps he will never better that magical morning at Nottingham when he took 8 for 15 but his objective is to keep improving.

After bowling delightfully to give England a narrow advantage in the first Test, and take his wickets tally for the year to 54, Broad said: “I definitely feel like I have improved. The biggest thing that has helped my game is my improvement to left-handed batsmen.

“Bowling round the wicket is quite a new thing to me. Ottis Gibson, our bowling coach, has sorted out the line of my run-up. I have spent a lot of time bowling over the wicket to left-handers and not having great control of the ball moving across or swinging in.

“It gives left-handers a little clip to get off strike, whereas coming round the wicket with all my weight moving towards off stump, if it does move away it can catch the edge, but if it stays straight it can bring in off stump. That has been a big development in my game. Bowlers I have grown up with say you peak between 28 and 32 so I hope that’s the case.”

Broad is still only 29 despite having taken 318 Test wickets and the manner in which he removed the opener Stiaan van Zyl personified his method. Coming from round the wicket, the ball stayed straight, the batsman left it and the ball hit off stump.

Broad also removed the main cogs of the opponents’ batting, Hashim Amla and AB de Villiers, whose wicket he particularly enjoyed.

“AB was taking the game from us slightly. He has that ability to hit the ball for four and score quickly. We came up with a 7-2 field plan, saying almost that you can hit your good shots but we want you to hit them to fielders and frustrate him a little bit.

Stuart Broad celebrates taking the crucial wicket of AB de Villiers (Getty Images)

“The leg cutter gripped more than I thought it would and caught the edge. Sometimes it catches the edge, sometimes it doesn’t, but encouraging him to play his shots is the way to get out players of that calibre. It’s hard to make them make a mistake unless they’re playing shots.”

England are unsure how the pitch will behave as the match wears on, though Broad confirmed that it was drier than expected, saying: “It has probably turned a bit more than we thought it might. If it keeps doing that and if we get a first-innings lead we’ll be in a good position.”