James Anderson and Stuart Broad, England’s two leading Test wicket-takers of all time, were the headline names in a ruthless post-Ashes cull for next month’s tour of the West Indies. The fast-bowling greats received no assurances that they still had test careers, either.
England, on the heels of an off-field clear-out that accounted for the head coach, assistant coach, and director of cricket also dropped eight players following the 4-0 Ashes 2021/22 loss in the series in Australia. Eight players who featured in the recent Ashes series missed out on selection for the three-match Test tour.
James Anderson And Stuart Broad Dropped For West Indies Tour After Ashes Loss
As well as James Anderson, Stuart Broad, and vice-captain Jos Buttler, the following players were also omitted: Dawid Malan, Sam Billings, Dom Bess, Rory Burns, and Haseeb Hameed.
The pace bowling pair of James Anderson and Stuart Broad’s combined 1,177 Test wickets have been deemed surplus to requirements by interim director of cricket Sir Andrew Strauss, whose decision to leave out the pair for this series was rubber-stamped by temporary head coach Paul Collingwood and captain Joe Root.
England selection panel, consisting of Andrew Strauss (interim managing director of England Men’s Cricket), interim head coach Paul Collingwood and head scout James Taylor, have named a 16-strong squad for the three-match Test tour of the Caribbean starting next month.
“With the start of a new cycle, it has allowed the selection panel to refresh the test squad with a particular focus on competing away from home,” former test captain Andrew Strauss, who is acting as the interim director of cricket following the firing of Ashley Giles, said on Tuesday.
There were some telling words for the 39-year-old James Anderson and the 35-year-old Stuart Broad, too.
“I want to emphasize this does not mean the end for them as England players,” Strauss said.
“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. No one doubts the quality and experience that James Anderson and Stuart Broad 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.”
The use of the phrases “draw a line” and “the start of a process and a journey” in the squad announcement hinted there might be no going back on some of the big decisions, though, with Jos Buttler having also had a tough time Down Under.
James Anderson has taken 640 wickets in 169 tests and Stuart Broad is second on England’s all-time list of wicket-takers, with 537 in 152 matches. Paul Collingwood will lead the team in the West Indies in place of the departed Chris Silverwood, whose assistant, Graham Thorpe, has also left his post.
Matt Fisher, Alex Lees, Saqib Mahmood, Matthew Parkinson And Ben Foakes Called Up To England’s 16 Man Squad
As part of what is being labelled a “red-ball reset,” seamer Matt Fisher is a direct beneficiary of the rebooted bowling attack while opener Alex Lees was also called up for the first time in the 16-man squad. Wicketkeeper Ben Foakes returns to the squad for the first time in nearly a year, when he played the fourth test against India in Ahmedabad in March. England’s squad leaves on Feb 24 for the three-Test series.
Durham opener Alex Lees and Yorkshire seamer Matthew Fisher are called-up for the first time. Alex Lees, 28, captained the Lions squad in Australia and has shown great potential in the LV= Insurance County Championship over the past few years with Durham and previously Yorkshire. He scored 625 runs in last year’s Championship campaign, with the highest score of 129.
The 24-year-old Matthew Fisher took 20 wickets for Yorkshire last season at an average of 19.65 from County Championship matches. His control with the ball has impressed the England set-up for some time, and he was a stand-out performer for the Lions during the winter program.
England Squad: Joe Root (captain), 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.