Stuart Broad called up for finals

England's Next Big Thing in fast-bowling, Stuart Broad has been called into the squad for the finals of the tri-series against Australia.

Broad's been developing at an alarming rate for the last year or so, both physically and as a cricketer. The latest estimates for his eventual height are that he'll wind up about 12 feet tall. Parallel to this, his bowling's been increasingly quick and effective. No-one really knows what kind of a bowler he'll eventually become, but the general consensus is that he's the Next Big Thing.

England go through fast-bowling Next Big Things like no other nation. Broad takes over from Sajid Mahmood and Liam Plunkett, who in turn replaced James Anderson, who's still only 24.

Another Next Big Thing was Chris Tremlett who is partly-responsible for Stuart Broad's call-up having knacked (sic) his back. We missed the recent games in which he featured as we were in a rubbish non-cricketing country. From what we've heard, it's no bad thing that Broad's replacing him.

Stuart Broad's also earmarked for the 'troublesome number eight spot' in the Test side, which is a bit ludicrous because he's only hit two first-class fifties. Still, he's 'developing'.

One day England's side won't be such a work-in-progress. It's getting tiresome to hear about how they're a 'young side' and 'gaining in experience all the time'.