Broad, Sangakkara back Ball to make grade

Jake Ball, England's newest seam-bowling recruit, has been given a vote of confidence by two veteran Test cricketers, Stuart Broad and Kumar Sangakkara, ahead of his possible Test debut against Sri Lanka at Headingley next week.

Ball, who has soared to the top of the County Championship Division One wicket-takers list with 19 at 21.15 in four appearances for Nottinghamshire, was named in a 12-man squad alongside his county team-mate Broad, who has witnessed at close quarters his rapid improvement over the past two seasons.

"Having seen him grow over the last three or four years, he's one of the quickest-improving bowlers I've seen in a while," Broad told ESPNcricinfo during the launch of the Investec Test series in London.

"He's tall, he's got pace, he gets bounce from a fuller length, he's got the skill to go around the wicket and over the wicket to the left-handers, and to move it in and out of the right-handers," Broad added.

"He's got every attribute to be a successful Test match bowler. It's a good move to get him involved in the squad, and he'll be very excited about joining up, I'm sure."

By his own admission, Ball's rise to prominence began in 2014-15, after a winter of gym-work gave him the necessary strength to back up his talents, and a season-best haul of 39 wickets earned him an England Lions call-up.

"He got a lot fitter and stronger, which really helps with his extra bounce as he really bounds in with a bit more energy in his run-up," said Broad. "I think he enjoyed his experience with the Lions in the winter, reports came back of him really impressing with his skills, as he's got a lot of white-ball skills as well, and that's a good place to be."

Ball's credentials were fully showcased during a remarkable televised County Championship fixture between Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge last week. In a contest that came down to the very last ball after a thrilling final-day run chase, Ball emerged with match figures of 7 for 125, including the prized scalp of Joe Root, caught at slip in the first innings for a first-ball duck.

"He's hit the ground running this season, and it always helps when you get one of England's best batters out first ball on the telly, doesn't it?" Broad said. "I think it's exciting in county cricket when you get people rewarded for good performances, and no one can argue that his start to the season doesn't deserve further recognition."

Ball's best haul to date, however, was his 5 for 98 in the second innings against Surrey in April, when he included Sangakkara among his victims, caught behind for 83 to trigger a decisive collapse.

"He's improved his line and length," Sangakkara told ESPNcricinfo. "Instead of searching for wickets, he tries to bowl the ball in exactly the right area, and wait for the batsman to make a mistake or for the ball to do something that allows him to get a wicket. That's something that any bowler takes a while to learn, and to have Jake learn that at a young age is very important.

"When I faced him he did exactly that, he swung the ball into the left-handers and he can bowl very well both round and over the wicket. That constant movement of the ball troubles any batsman. He also bowls a heavy ball, he's not the quickest but he's very challenging in English conditions."

Sangakkara, who retired from Test cricket last year with a national-record haul of 12,400 runs, concedes that this summer's tour promises to be a "steep learning curve" for Sri Lanka. Despite a squad containing several veterans of their memorable series win at Headingley in 2014, he believes the most important thing is for the younger members of the side to absorb the experiences on offer against opponents whom he described as "the world's best".

"They are here to try and win, but also they are here as part of a long-term process," he said. "I think the next one-and-a-half years under Graham Ford [the new coach] will be very important for Sri Lanka's players, to understand themselves as players and as people, and their strengths, weaknesses and how to grow."

England, it could be said, are currently reaping the rewards of their own 18-month rebuilding phase, with their recent 2-1 Test series win in South Africa and their near-miss in the World T20 final in India firm evidence of the progress they have been making.

"I think the huge strides the England cricket team has taken in the last couple of years is realising that we are in the entertainment industry and actually, yes we want to win games but win them the right way," Broad said. "That's by people leaving the ground day to day thinking, 'cor, that was good fun, wasn't it?'"

The mainstay of England's performances in all three formats has been Root, arguably the most rounded batsman in the world today.

"He's hugely consistent at the moment," Broad said. "He's played some really important knocks, and he's at that stage now when opposition teams will be looking at him and thinking 'how will we get Joe Root out?'

"He does have that added pressure that teams may do more research on him, but he's the sort of character who can cope with that. Cooky's coped for 11 years.

"He's a tricky player to bowl at because he scores quickly," Broad added. "He doesn't give chances but the ball still runs away to the boundary, he's got a beautiful ability to hit gaps, and long may that continue."

"He's been wonderful for England, ever since that dropped catch second ball in the Ashes Test," said Sangakkara, recalling Brad Haddin's costly miss at Cardiff in the first Test of the 2015 Ashes.

"It just goes to show, a lapse in the opposition allowed one of the best players in England's recent history to rise to the status that he has now. It is thoroughly deserved. He is very good against pace and spin, he's very attacking, he looks to score, he's got a good defence, he's very good on the back foot, which is very important, and his temperament is excellent for all formats of cricket."