Wanted: Stuart Broad's mojo

Stuart Broad must recover his form with the bat before it is too late. His talent is dormant, his mind scrambled, his splendid spirit broken. The Australia fast bowlers will first ridicule the obvious fear and then exploit it. In short, they will eat him alive.

But it need not be so. There is no quick fix but there is an obvious fix: a good coach, another mindset and some hours in the nets. If England do anything in the coming weeks they must solve the Broad batting conundrum. Why so? Why worry about a bloke at No. 9? Because Broad's cricket depends on self-esteem. And because England's cricket finds another gear when Broad is firing on all his cylinders.

A précis of the story goes like this. At Lord's in 2010 a tall and slim left-handed batsman walked to the wicket for England against Pakistan. There was trouble at the mill - England were 102 for 7 - but the batsman, who was by no means Garry Sobers, played like Garry Sobers. A magisterially high back-lift, with the wrists cocked and the face of the bat open, allowed free strokeplay, the like of which is rarely seen. The cover-drive was a standout, some of the leg-side pick-ups were memorable for their dismissive ease. He made a hundred that day and added plenty more the next. He finished with 169 and a standing ovation from an ecstatic crowd.

The innings was played by Stuart Broad, England's gifted young fast bowler. If not quite making Broad an allrounder, it sure shortened England's tail. In the years that followed, runs flowed. A knock of 65 at Trent Bridge in 2013 effectively put the game out of Australia's reach, for example, and there were others, many of them, that hammered nails into opposition coffins.

Then, last summer at Old Trafford, Varun Aaron bounced him once and he smashed it over square-leg for six. Next ball, the same and the same result but harder and further. Apparently unperturbed, Aaron bounced him again and the sound of ball on helmet was sickening. There was blood and shock. Broad left the field and, in doing so, left his ability with the bat behind him. It remains out there somewhere but he has to go and find it. Form is temporary, class is permanent.

It was good to watch Broad bowl here. He had a lovely rhythm, a long and straight follow-through and plenty of carry to Jos Buttler. He is at his most effective when he bowls a full length. The ball seems to hurry and climb from the surface. Some bowlers are best hitting the pitch, others are better skimming it. Broad is the latter. He and his mate Jimmy Anderson have 672 Test wickets between them. Anderson has 397 of those but has played in 27 more Test matches. Their averages and strike rates are remarkably similar.

The Test match programme describes the son of Chris thus: "At his best, Broad is as unplayable as any bowler in the world. His streaks are not so much hot as volcanic. He is smart, flexible and a furious competitor ... He possesses the rare ability both to out-think and bully a batsman." Even allowing for the ECB's copy-writing hype, it is fair summation. The two opponents this summer have previously suffered from the volcanic effect - New Zealand here at Lords two years ago and Australia, both at The Oval in 2009 and Durham in 2013. Repeat, "Broad at his best is as unplayable as any bowler in the world."

But he is not as his best. From the loss of his nerve has come the loss of his mojo.

Recently, he admitted that he "still had nightmares" and "wakes up thinking he has been hit in the face". It was messy at the time and has messed with his mind. There is no shame in fear, only in not looking to conquer it. He says he is receiving psychological help, which is wise, but he needs a method for batting that becomes second nature.

In short, both the man and his team are affected by the awkwardness of his present efforts at the crease. They are not worthy of wonderful gifts and do little justice to Broad's nature and promise. His innings in the morning was fraught, all too brief and finished ingloriously with a poke from a position far from the ball. This was New Zealand not Mitchell Johnson and it spoke volumes for the stress this fine cricketer is now going through.

It is impossible not to feel for him. The game exposes a man like no other. Hopes and fears are in full view. Reactions and responses are analysed at every turn. The world is both his stage and his fish bowl. He lives within it, desperate for a performance but scared to perform.

Tony Greig was a similar height and played fast bowling especially well, even after some blows to the head. His theory for the tall man was to confront the ball. He set his stance forward, with his bat raised for comfort, and then leant into his front leg so that his head and eyes went directly towards the bowler. From that position, said Greigy, he could allow his instinct to take over, secure in the knowledge that he was well placed to either take it on or duck and weave. The one place you could not be, he insisted, was back, and certainly not back and away. Once back, he explained, there was no hope of transferring any weight into the shot.

He suggested that only the very best batsmen, or shorter men, could play from a back and across position. Many have had a little trigger back towards middle stump, plenty of others have pressed a touch forward. Some have stayed leg side of the ball, more though have exaggerated a move over to off stump. All this is complicated and difficult. It takes hours to hone a technique and then patience and courage to pull it off.

Greig had the stomach for it, or the heart - call it as you will. His thrill was the battle. A year ago this was the case with Broad who liked nothing more than to get up the nose of the enemy. But this is hard to do if you are seen to retreat yourself.

There is a pleasure in batting that Broad must seek, a joy in runs scored that he must revisit soon. To do so, he will need to go back to school. He has Mark Ramprakash in the dressing-room and many a potential mentor on the end of a phone: think Geoffrey Boycott, Graham Gooch, Alec Stewart and Michael Vaughan. There is Andrew Strauss for goodness sake. Or he could keep it simple and under wraps by keeping it in the family. He could call up his dad.