Stuart Broad believes Dale Steyn is the best bowler of his generation

Broad in action against South Africa

The 29-year-old English speedster and the current world number one bowler in Test matches, Stuart Broad has gone on to reveal the fact that he believes his fellow South African counterpart, Dale Steyn is the best bowler of his generation. Having made his Test debut back in 2007 against Sri Lanka, Broad has picked up 333 wickets for England in 91 Test matches that he has played. Son of former England opening batsman and current International Cricket Council (ICC) match referee Chris Broad, Stuart has a narrow lead from Ravichandran Ashwin at the top of the standings table. Having said that, Dale Steyn's figures of 406 Test wickets in just 82 matches stands head and shoulders above that of the English cricketer. The South African's average stands at 22.53 compared to that of 28.66 of the Englishman.

As England are set to take on Sri Lanka next week in the first of three-match Test series at Headingley, Broad told the press, “On the ranking, I'm certainly not going to sit here and say I'm a better bowler than Dale Steyn- I've said before he is the bowler of our generation.

“It's very nice to be at the top of the rankings, but for me, it's come really for me through playing a lot of cricket. I've played 40-odd Tests on the bounce now, so I've been out there having the opportunity to take wickets and bowling within a bowling unit that's creating a lot of pressure,” the seamer added.

Quite understandingly, the 29-year-old seamer is delighted to occupy the number one spot and this is what he had to say about this achievement, “It's always nice when you do get to a ranking like that, but it's not something I focus on a huge amount. For me, it's all about trying to take top-order wickets and get us (England) into a winning position.

“When you finish your career, you don't look back on where you got to in the rankings, you look back on Test match wins and what the team wins,” Stuart Broad added.

Having played Test cricket for around nine years now, Broad added, “I feel with a bit of experience, I know what I'm looking for as a bowler now, know what tempo I'm trying to find in my run-up. I feel like I can adapt to different conditions quicker. When I was my learning my trade, up until 25 or 26, I only seemed to strike when conditions were really in my favour.

“Whereas I feel the more I've played in different conditions, the more I've realised you have to adapt your game quickly in Test cricket to survive,” Broad concluded.