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Veteran England pacer Stuart Broad says decision to omit both him and James Anderson from England’s latest squad is “difficult to comprehend”. Broad and James Anderson, England’s all-time leading Test wicket-takers with 1,177 victims between them, have been left out of the 16-man squad for the three-Test tour of West Indies. The selection panel comprising of Andrew Strauss and interim head coach Paul Collingwood said they were seeking a new approach after the team’s 4-0 Ashes humiliation in Australia.
Broad said, “I am waking up more confused and angrier with each passing day.” Broad said he was also unhappy at how the matter was dealt with, stating he had received just a short phone call from England’s interim managing director Sir Andrew Strauss.
I have been world class for the last eight years: Broad
Broad averaged 26 in the Ashes in three Tests and bagged a fifer in the fourth Test in Sydney, the only match England did not lose in the five-match affair. Anderson, meanwhile, averaged an even better 23 from as many Tests on the tour.
However, Broad was struggling to understand why he had been left out. "I took 11 wickets in the final two Ashes matches, I have been Test-match standard for a long time and, for the last eight years, you would say world class,” Broad stated.
"I could take being dropped if I had let my standards slip but facing up to being overlooked when they haven’t is another thing altogether. That’s why I was so outspoken when I was left out against West Indies in Southampton a couple of years ago.” Broad concluded by saying that he has already proved his worth in Test matches and has got nothing more to prove. He is now waiting for the English cricketing summer and will be targeting the home series against New Zealand in June.
England’s first Test against the West Indies begins on March 8 in Antigua. The three-match series is a part of the ICC World Test Championship.
