Stuart Broad admits Test series victories away form home are harder to come by than ever as he prepares to face South Africa in England’s second tour of the winter.

The Nottinghamshire fast bowler was a standout performer on unresponsive surfaces during the recent 2-0 defeat against Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates, collecting seven wickets in three matches at an average of 27.

He hopes conditions will be more conducive to seam and swing bowling when the four match series against the world's number one team gets underway in Durban on Boxing Day.

"Players have become so good in their own conditions, so it is very hard to go and win abroad," said the 29-year-old.

"You don't see many teams winning away from home, so that will be a big motivation for us in South Africa.

"Conditions wise, South Africa is probably as close to England as we'll get. The pitches bounce a bit and there is decent seam movement from time-to-time, so going there shouldn't scare us.

"But it is tough to win away from home and that's why you hold an away series in high regard because a lot of hard work goes into it - like in any Test match - but winning away from home is particularly tough."

England’s pace attack emerged from the UAE with significant credit as Broad, James Anderson, Mark Wood and Ben Stokes garnered  31 wickets between them.

It was in the batting department, together with slow bowling, that Pakistan were able to dominate the tourists and - while spin traditionally plays a bit-part role in South African conditions - Broad knows an improvement is required with the bat, and fast.

"We've been very fortunate over the past 18 months that Cookie and Joe Root have been in the form of their lives," he said.

"With Rooty averaging nearly 100, they have really kept us in games. They have given us a total for the bowlers to bowl at.

"But I think leading forward, we know that we need a few more guys to step up with the bat. That's nothing to hide away or shy away from; we talk about it in the changing room.

"We need a bit more responsibility from more guys to score runs because we know that if we can get 350-400 runs on the board, we've got the bowling attack that can win us games."

 

England are returning to the scene of their Ashes triumph in 2016 for Royal London One-Day Internationals against Sri Lanka and Pakistan.

Don't miss the opportunity to watch some of the best players in the world go toe-to-toe in the unique surroundings of Trent Bridge and secure your seats now.