Expect Broad grins in the Ashes opener at Trent Bridge

With the first Test fast approaching, the English bowling attack will be licking their lips at the prospect of facing an Australian side that have had a far from straight forward Ashes preperation.

And one man who could start the series in style on his home ground is Stuart Broad.

The Nottingham born fast-bowler will take to the field at Trent Bridge to claim his 58^th Test cap and he looks a great price at 11/4 with Ladbrokes to take the most Australian wickets in the first innings of the series.

Broad’s Ashes record speaks for itself; with 24 wickets in Australia in the 2010/11 series complimenting an 18-wicket haul on home soil in 2009.

Add that to the fact that he plays his domestic cricket at Trent Bridge, and he looks the standout value to use his knowledge of the pitch to his advantage.

However, he is not the only England bowler that ply’s their trade bowling from the Radcliffe Road End.

Graeme Swann (3/1) will also know the wicket all too well, but with the Australians historically more vulnerable to the English pace bowlers, it is questionable whether he will have as much luck with his spin.

If one man can stop Broad taking the most wickets, it is certainly Jimmy Anderson. The Lancashire swing bowler has been in sublime form in recent months, sending 33 players back to the pavilion in his last seven tests. He too had a whale of a time Down Under in the 2010/11, also claiming 24 scalps in the series.

But familiarity with the pitch could be key. Anderson has taken 28 wickets in his six England Test matches at Trent Bridge, an average of just over four and a half wickets per match. In comparison, Broad has registered 18 times in four Tests for his country at the ground, a very similar average.

So with the man they call ‘Westlife’ priced at 11/4 compared to Anderson at 2/1, it looks the definite value call to go with the Notts man.

All odds correct as of the date of publishing