STUART BROAD has urged the ECB not to cut Durham adrift when they allocate future international matches, and is hoping the second Test against Sri Lanka that starts tomorrow is not the final five-day game to be staged at Chester-le-Street.

England will spend this weekend attempting to wrap up their first series win of the summer having trounced Sri Lanka by an innings-and-88 runs in the first Test at Headingley, but have travelled to the North-East amid a backdrop of financial uncertainty that has placed a huge question mark over Durham’s continued ability to bid for Test cricket.

The ECB have already confirmed their staging plans to the end of the 2019 season, and while Durham have been awarded Twenty20 matches and One-Day Internationals in that period, there will not be another Test at Emirates Riverside until 2020 at the earliest.

There might not be another five-day fixture at all unless the ECB reduce the cost of staging relatively unattractive Tests, with Durham having paid more than £900,000 to host this weekend’s game, but having starred as England secured a thrilling Ashes win over Australia at Riverside in 2013, Broad claims it would be a huge shame if the ground dropped off the Test rota.

“I think it would be a big shame if we didn’t come back here,” said Broad, who posted match figures of 11-121 as England beat Australia by 74 runs to secure the Ashes three years ago. “From a purely selfish point of view of playing within the team, you want to play at grounds you win at. You want to play at grounds where people feel at home and have success.

“Durham have been a brilliant County Championship side for a number of years in my cricketing career, winning it a few times, and they’ve produced quite a few England players who have changed the result for the England team.

“The fans want to be able to see their home-grown Durham players playing for England here. Unfortunately, two (Ben Stokes and Mark Wood) are missing out through injury this week, but it’s a ground where England have had success. From a selfish, non-money point of view, I like playing here.”

Broad produced one of the all-time great England bowling performances as he skittled through the Australian line-up in the second innings three years ago, and the 29-year-old was at it again as he teamed up with Jimmy Anderson to devastating effect in last week’s first Test thumping in Leeds.

Broad took five wickets, with Anderson claiming nine as Sri Lanka were dismissed for a grand total of 210 runs in their two innings, and the pair now boast a combined total of 781 Test wickets over the course of their career.

Sir Ian Botham and Bob Willis might claim otherwise, but statistically Anderson and Broad are England’s best bowling partnership of all time, and the latter feels they are combining more effectively now than at any other point in their time together.

“We’ve actually improved in the last couple of years, I think,” said Broad. “We’ve always been quite good in communicating, but we’ve taken that to a new level, realising when one of us is on a wicket-taking streak, the other one can apply pressure and not get too greedy, and vice versa.

“Jimmy’s an outstanding swing bowler, as we saw at Headingley when conditions swung; I don’t really swing it, I look to more seam it.

“We feel like we’ve got the experience now to be able to pick up on conditions quickly and know whose day it is going to be. We’ve taken that communication to the next level over the past couple of years, and it’s something we want to continue for more years to come.

“Jimmy’s got 440 Test wickets now. He could play for three or four more years, and the way he’s bowling at the minute, that could take him really high up that list.”

Stokes’ injury means England will have to alter the make-up of their bowling attack, with the selectors facing a straight choice between Warwickshire all-rounder Chris Woakes and Nottinghamshire paceman Jake Ball.

Woakes, who proved his well-being by taking nine wickets in an innings against Durham earlier this week, would be a like-for-like replacement for Stokes, but with bowlers tending to dominate at Chester-le-Street, Ball could be handed his international debut with Jonny Bairstow or Moeen Ali moving up the order to bat at six.

“The great thing is that both guys are coming in in good form,” said Broad. “It helps the team relax a little bit knowing that whoever replaces Ben Stokes is playing like that.

“Don’t get me wrong, he (Stokes) will be a big loss. He’s a number six batter who is a fantastic bowler as well, so he is a big loss and it does change the dynamics a little bit.

“But Chris Woakes is coming off a nine-for on the day he was told he was called up for the Test squad – that’s a pretty good day – and Jake Ball has been bowling beautifully all year. Whoever comes in, the whole squad knows will do a great job.”