By "both" I meant you and Owzat, not both of your posts. Though that wasn't clear.
Don't see the relevance of bringing the great bowlers (Steyn? Lol, but that's for another time), I made no mention of Broad being great, just I don't think there's enough weight in him being dropped, or enough wait from those who would replace him. I think he's bowled well in both tests and has been bowling well for the last couple of years. Some stats:
Code:
year 2007 1 1 36.0 5 95 1 1/95 1/95 95.00 2.63 216.0 0 0
year 2008 9 18 325.2 67 1081 25 3/44 5/104 43.24 3.32 78.0 0 0
year 2009 14 22 421.3 84 1333 47 6/91 6/87 28.36 3.16 53.8 3 0
year 2010 10 18 321.4 76 948 26 4/38 6/104 36.46 2.94 74.2 0 0
Yeah, his stats for 2010 aren't great (though in the modern era of pitches, I think anything below 35 is decent, given batsman are now expected to average over 40, when it used to be less in the 90s, when the threshold for bowlers was under 30). He had a great year in 2009, including two iconic bowling performances in The Ashes, on stats. There are two sides to cricket, Flintoff never had a great average, but was he good enough to bowl for the side? Of course he was, Broad also creates pressure like Flintoff and is a versatile bowler who can be used in many aspects. If you take in to account his age, he's probably still 5 years away from the peak of his career. The improvements he already has made, his fantastic results in ODIs and the fact he is a long-term investment. Throw in to the mix he averages nearly 30 with the bat for a number 8, including 160 odd earlier this year, and I just don't see any weight in him being dropped outside of the typical pessimism so many hold. Not saying he can't improve or could be doing more in the side, but do you think Shahzad or Tremlett will offer more?