File photo of Stuart Broad.
Stuart Broad is loathe to the idea of missing a Test but the seasoned England pacer doesn't mind being "rested" sometimes either as long as the communication is clear, something, which he believes, did not happen when Ed Smith was national selector.
Broad is gearing up for a busy schedule with Tests against New Zealand and India lined up in the next three months.
"Is it realistic I'm going to play every Test? No. But if the communication is done well then you understand the reasons for it," the 34-year-old Broad told the British media.
"You understand why you might miss certain games to be fit for other games. That along with building experience into different players.
"If I had a choice I'd want to play all seven Tests. Part of the reason I don't play white ball cricket any more is so I'm fit and available for Test cricket and fresh when I'm needed," he added.
The veteran pacer reflected on his strained relationship with Smith, who was removed as national selector last month.
"A lot of people have bosses who don't rate them as much as other people and I think he was mine," Broad said. "He probably didn't rate me as much as other players. That's fine but I kept trying to prove some selection decisions wrong...from my point of view we struggled a bit on the communication side and probably saw the game of cricket slightly differently.".
Last year, Broad had publicly expressed his disappointment after being dropped from the opening Test against West Indies.
"...I was disgruntled because the selectors had said the first Test team of the summer will be our best team. For someone who had been through the Ashes successfully, been through South Africa successfully and stayed fit, I felt it was my shirt," he reasoned.
The red-ball specialist believes he and fellow veteran James Anderson make the best English bowling attack.
"I don't think many could argue against Jimmy and I being in the best bowling attack in England, but if you need to get experience and overs into bowlers that is what it is. It's when the communication disappears; that's when players can't see reasons or see through it," he added.
The seamer rued that his career has been more about being "dropped" than "rested".
"...there's a difference between being rested and dropped. I feel as though I've had a career of being dropped and others have had a career of being rested," Broad said.
Broad feels it has been frustrating for Jofra Archer, who was ruled out of the Test series against New Zealand after his long-standing elbow injury resurfaced.
"He is in decent spirits. I think it's been frustrating for him. You know, the first time I was really aware that he had a bit of an elbow issue was in South Africa," he said.
Broad feels Archer can "play a huge part in all three formats for England."
"But he won't just be able to play every game. It's unrealistic to think that any all-format player - Ben Stokes included - can and that's when, without being disrespectful to any other type of international cricket, you do have to get him right for the games you want him right for," he added.
"It's still too early for Jofra to start having doubts of whether he's a three-format cricketer, but he needs to get very clear in his mind what cricket he wants to be absolutely fit and firing for," he said.
