Veteran England seamer Stuart Broad has revealed he could miss the upcoming Test series against Pakistan this winter.
The tour will be a historic one, with England set to play Test cricket in Pakistan for the first time in 17 years. England will first play seven T20Is there, before returning for three Test matches in December following the T20 World Cup.
However, Broad could be absent from the tour as his fiancee, former Saturdays singer and BBC Radio 1 presenter Mollie King, is due to give birth to the couple's first child in November. In his latest column for the Daily Mail, Broad admitted his availability for the series is "yet to be decided" but he will "want to be at home deep into November".
The first Test is set to begin on December 1 at Rawalpindi, but England will begin their preparation in Abu Dhabi from November 18 with a three-day warm-up game against the England Lions planned.
"All I am thinking about is entering the next Test match I play, the fittest I've ever been," Broad wrote. "At 36, that's quite a big thing to say.
"I'm going to be training five, six days a week specifically for fast bowling. So that whenever I'm next selected, I am in great condition.
"Normally I do technical work, and I made a tweak at the Oval, twisting my shoulders a little, like Dominic Cork used to, to get my wrist position better on release. It helped me swing the ball. But when the calendar ticks on to October 1, I will plunge into a new fitness regime.
"Not long after, selection for the Pakistan Test series will take place and whether I make that tour is yet to be decided. I will obviously want to be at home deep into November when Mollie and I are expecting our first child, so that will form part of selection discussions.
"My job is to make sure I am ready whenever I am called upon again and I look forward to that with an enthusiasm that has reached another level these past few weeks."
