IF Jimmy Anderson wins his fitness battle for the Third Test, Stuart Broad might become a surprise candidate for the chop.

It seems inconceivable that an all-rounder with such talent could find his position under threat, but, the simple fact is, his bowling returns are just not good enough.

On average, he takes just under three wickets per Test match – much less than Anderson, Matthew Hoggard and Steve Harmison at exactly the same stage in their careers.

The problem with the 24-year-old is not talent, because he is blessed with copious amounts of natural ability. He is worthy of taking the new ball for his country, and, with a bit more consistency, his batting is good enough for number seven.

But the numbers just don’t stack up at the moment. He has taken 105 Test wickets at an average of 36 and scored 1,153 runs at 27. Hardly the statistics of a world beater.

Those figures are eerily similar to the playing record of Andrew Flintoff, and this is where Broad needs to heed lessons from the past.

Freddie only took three five-wicket hauls in the five-day format, yet he was far more effective than that. He won games on his own.

When the chips were down, the Lancashire man would still be running in giving his all and trying to make something happen. Invariably, the crowd would be lifted and, all of a sudden, England had seized back the initiative.

If Flintoff did not take the wicket himself, the pressure he exerted through his sense of theatre would put one on a plate for the man at the other end.

He might have been smiling all the way back to his mark, but, when facing the batsman, he was snarling. He made opposition batsman feel about as comfortable as a spectator sat beneath the dressing room windows at Lord’s.

Broad has an edge to him, but it is not channelled in the right direction. It is more petulant than pertinent.

With Anderson the leader of the pace attack, and Chris Tremlett the enforcer, Broad needs to become the talisman. When Andrew Strauss needs a breakthrough, when there is nothing happening in the match, Broad has the talent and charisma to step up to the plate.

His role as England Twenty20 captain suggests he has the nous to work out his failings and realise his potential. Only time will tell whether that faith is well placed.