(Reuters) – England fast bowlers James Anderson and Stuart Broad will be considered for selection again in the English summer, interim managing director Andrew Strauss said on Wednesday.
Anderson and Broad, England’s all-time leading test wicket takers with 1,177 victims between them, were dropped from the squad for the three-test tour of the West Indies.
The selection panel comprising of Strauss and interim head coach Paul Collingwood said they were seeking a new approach after the team’s 4-0 Ashes humiliation in Australia.
“This is the start of a new cycle, so it’s an opportunity for us to get some new faces in the team and maybe to ask some of the players that are in the team to play more significant leadership roles,” Strauss told Sky Sports.
“We feel like it’s an opportunity for us to leave both Broad and Anderson out for the time being… so the new England coach and director will have more information to base their selection decisions this summer.
“But I fully expect that both Broad and Anderson to be in that selection conversation at the start of this summer.”
Strauss said he had spoken to 39-year-old Anderson and 35-year-old Broad, who expressed their disappointment, but hoped they would understand the rationale.
“No one is saying this is the end of the road for either of them,” Strauss added. “I suppose there is a danger (they might see it as a signal to end their career) but I was trying to be as clear as I can with them.
“Their job right at the moment is to get themselves fired up and ready to go at the start of the international summer in June.”
The decision brought mixed reaction.
“This is seismic. I mean this is really an earthquake in cricketing terms,” said former England batsman Mark Ramprakash.
“I never saw this coming because really there’s been so much focus on England’s poor batting displays, particularly in Australia but also last summer. It seems that these two great bowlers may have paid the price for the Ashes defeat.”
Former England captain Michael Vaughan said he was happy with the selection, adding that Strauss had done the “smart” thing in trying to build a new culture in the dressing room.
“England have clearly thought they haven’t done exactly what’s required. And they’ll give (captain Joe) Root the chance to build a fresh culture with a new bowling attack,” Vaughan wrote in The Telegraph.
“The long-term goal is trying to build a team that can win in Australia.”
(Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru, editing by Ed Osmond)
