Ian Bell has named three bowlers who could replace England legend Stuart Broad following his retirement at the end of the Ashes.
Broad, 37, finished a sensational career by bowling England to victory in the fifth Ashes Test against Australia at the Oval.
He took 604 wickets in 167 Test matches, becoming the second most successful pace bowler in history behind team-mate James Anderson.
Broad’s departure leaves a significant void in the England team but Bell believes Ollie Robinson, Josh Tongue and Sam Cook are capable of coming in to bolster the bowling attack.
Robinson has enjoyed a superb start to his Test career – taking 76 wickets in 19 matches – but was underwhelming during the Ashes and found himself out of the side for the final two games.
Worcestershire’s Tongue took five wickets in the Ashes Test at Lord’s – less than a month after making his international debut at the same venue – but England favoured the experience of Broad, Anderson and Chris Woakes and the extreme pace of Mark Wood for the rest of the series.
Essex star Cook, meanwhile, is yet to represent his country but has impressed coaches – including Bell – while playing for the England Lions.
‘Stuart Broad’s retirement means England need to find a replacement,’ Bell told Betfair. ‘Moeen Ali will also not play again, leaving the door open for that batting and spinning all-rounder.
‘I think as far as replacing Broad goes, England have options and they are down the road to finding some good operators. Ollie Robinson, of course, comes back into the team.
‘Josh Tongue made his debut this summer and it looked as though he could handle the pressure of a big series.
‘Sam Cook, from Essex, could do a job. I was with him with the Lions in Sri Lanka. He has a high skill level, hits the top of off with consistency like nobody else and his control of length is fantastic.
‘What is key is recognising that guys like Tongue or Cook need time to bed in. You can’t expect either of them to be as good as Stuart straightaway.
‘As for a player like Moeen, there are exciting options. Will Jacks we’ve already seen be involved with England, likewise Rehan Ahmed whose batting is really coming on. Both of those two could be selected for India.
‘Don’t be surprised if the selection is Lancashire’s Tom Hartley. He’s a tall bowler, who bowls his spin with good pace and that could work on those India pitches. He’s a similar style of bowler in terms of trajectory to Axar Patel or Ravi Jadeja.’
England, who came from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 with Ashes holders Australia, return to action in Test cricket over the winter with a daunting five-match tour of India.
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