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England ODI captain Eoin Morgan says Stuart Broad is still in his thoughts for one-day return

England captain Eoin Morgan (right) talks with Stuart Broad during the 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup match between England and Bangladesh: Shaun Botterill/Getty Images
England captain Eoin Morgan (right) talks with Stuart Broad during the 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup match between England and Bangladesh: Shaun Botterill/Getty Images

Rarely has the contrast between the batting and bowling strength of the England team been as marked as it is today.

While England’s batting seems to reach greater heights with every game, as 716 runs so far this season would attest, their bowling is porous.

In both matches of this series, they have taken early wickets — India were 63 for four in the first ODI and 25 for three in the second — yet have been powerless to stop the home side’s assault.

With June’s Champions Trophy in mind, England’s bowling weaknesses could bode well for Stuart Broad’s prospects of a recall. He has only played two ODIs since the 2015 World Cup, both in South Africa at the start of 2016, but his ongoing stint in the Australian Big Bash League, for the Hobart Hurricanes, indicates that Broad retains white-ball ambitions for England.

In the wake of conceding 381 for seven here yesterday, captain Eoin Morgan endorsed the possibility of recalling Broad for the Champions Trophy.

“Stuart’s always in our thoughts,” Morgan said. “I thought he charged in at the Big Bash. I watched all his games and he’s working on his variations. It’s very difficult for him to go straight from Test cricket to playing in the Big Bash but he’s made a fist of it, so credit to him.

“He wants to play more white-ball cricket and he certainly could be an option for the future.”

In many ways, it is curious that Broad has barely featured since the 2015 World Cup. He is only 30, retains a fine record in ODIs — 178 wickets at 30.13 apiece — and his recent Test form has shown no hints of decline. If he bought greater control to the attack, it might even save Morgan some cash — he was fined 20 per cent of his match fee after England’s slow over rate in Cuttack.

Morgan’s own position has never been in jeopardy, for all the furore over his decision not to tour Bangladesh on security grounds, and an average of under 30 in 2016, which is testament to how highly regarded his leadership is.

Still, his first ODI century since June 2015 was a welcome reminder of his qualities, especially given the batting talent lurking beneath.

Perhaps the most exciting of the batsmen outside the first XI is Sam Billings, who impressed Rahul Dravid in the IPL last year and performed well in the Big Bash.

With Alex Hales’s arm in a sling after attempting a catch in Cuttack, Billings could open in Kolkata on Sunday.