England fast bowler Stuart Broad will be in test match action against South Africa when his beloved Nottingham Forest run out at Goodison Park on Saturday – but he’ll find a way of keeping aware of the score against Everton!

“We’re not allowed phones in the dressing room so we have to ask the umpires and they can radio up to the pavilion. So if I’m bowling an over, I’ll just ask one the umpires to let me know the Forest score!”

And there’s every chance that the Nottinghamshire veteran isn’t joking!

A lifelong Nottingham Forest fan, Broad was ecstatic when the City Ground outfit returned to the Premier League at the end of last season and earlier this week he took a break from training at Lord’s to speak to evertonfc.com.

Amongst other topics, Broad spoke about the Steve Cooper, Frank Lampard, watching Forest at strange times around the world whilst on England duty, and who the football fans are in the England dressing room.

“The banter is non-stop, particularly with the fantasy football!” he said. “At the end of last year, because my mate Jimmy (Anderson) is a big Burnley fan, and Everton fans won’t want to hear this because they were in the scrap as well, I wanted Burnley to survive because I knew how much it meant to Jimmy.

“What blows my mind is that when I’m flying to Australia or New Zealand, I can watch live Premier League football at 35,000 feet but I can’t make a phone call on the M1 because you can’t get a signal!

“As an away fan, Everton at Goodison is one that you want to do. It’s one of the best atmospheres in the game. It will be a fascinating game but we know that we’ll come to Goodison with a lot of energy and a lot of away support.”