Stuart Broad ready for England 'take off' - with or without new ball

Stuart Broad has yet to be told if he will keep the new ball as he bids for his 400th wicket when England begin their Test series against New Zealand - but he has a gut feeling he is set for a return to form.

Broad says he went "back to basics" as he re-grooved his action in the Trent Bridge nets while England were still playing white-ball cricket ahead of the two-Test series, which begins at Eden Park on Thursday (12am UK time) - live on Sky Sports Cricket.

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England captain Joe Root gave the new ball first to Mark Wood and then Chris Woakes in England's two warm-up matches in Hamilton.

But asked if it was a jolt to his confidence when Root preferred others as James Anderson's new-ball partners against a New Zealand XI, Broad said: "Not at all, no.

"I'm really not sure which way we'll go [in the first Test] ... we're going to be slightly less rigid in the way we go about things, just to try to create pressure for longer periods of time.

"There has been no decision made on it.

"There's still a chance I could take the new ball ..."

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Irrespective of that, Broad admits his self-tutorial in Nottingham was overdue.

"I think my action had fallen into a place where it needed repairing, after bowling so much to left-handers around the wicket - in training and in matches.

"I'm in a place now where I feel like I can do quite a bit of damage as a bowler again."

Broad admits he needs to start taking wickets again after England's 4-0 Ashes defeat this winter, but the 31-year-old believes his career could be set for lift off.

"First off I've got a huge desire to make an impact in this team because it's been a little bit of time and there's been a bit of uncertainty as to where that lies with me," he told Sky Sports News.

"I need to start performing, 2019 Ashes is a big one for me, but I've just got that feeling inside me, there's something in my stomach that tells me my career is about to take off a bit."