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Anderson and Broad become victims of Ashes catastrophe, veterans dropped for West Indies tour

Arjun Bhalla

Collective experience of 321 Tests, 1177 wickets and many accolades, England's selection committee, including interim managing director Andrew Strauss, stand-in head coach Paul Collingwood and head scout James Taylor have chosen to axe veteran pace duo James Anderson and Stuart Broad from the West Indies tour.


As England announced their 16-man squad for the upcoming three-match Test series against the West Indies, shockwaves were sent throughout the cricketing fraternity with Anderson and Broad's name nowhere to be seen in the players' list.



With English cricket currently in the mud, moves are being made to bring in a positive change in their Test future. As few of the top administrators were forced to quit, players were also left to suffer the wrath of the Ashes debacle.


The idea behind dropping Anderson and Broad is certainly based on the future. But with England going through a hard time at present, their gamble has a large possibility of backfiring.  


Going by the managing director's words, it is not the end of the road for Anderson and Broad. The West Indies series is seen as the tool to try out exciting pace talents. But you never know with English cricket, the statement may just be another way of dodging the public outrage.


"In respect of James Anderson and Stuart Broad, I want to emphasise this does not mean the end for them as England players. We feel that it is important to look at some exciting new bowling potential and give some added responsibility to other players who have featured previously,"  the former England captain said as quoted by ecb.co.uk.


"No one doubts the quality and experience that James and Stuart bring to the England set-up. It will be up to the new managing director and permanent head coach to decide on whether they will be involved this summer and beyond," Strauss added.


In addition to the senior seamers, other members who featured in the Ashes but didn't make the cut are Jos Buttler, Dawid Malan, Rory Burns, Haseeb Hameed, Sam Billings and Dom Bess.


England's Test squad for the West Indies series: Joe Root (c), Jonathan Bairstow, Zak Crawley, Matthew Fisher, Ben Foakes, Dan Lawrence, Jack Leach, Alex Lees, Saqib Mahmood, Craig Overton, Matthew Parkinson, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson, Ben Stokes, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood.

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