Veteran England quick Stuart Broad has spoken about being dropped from the Test squad following the 4-0 Ashes defeat and says the controversial decision has affected his sleep
'Gutted' Broad breaks silence on England Test axing
Stuart Broad admits he is "gutted" to have been dropped from England's Test squad and says the controversial decision has affected his sleep.
Along with fellow veteran seamer James Anderson, Broad has been left out of the England squad for their Test series in the West Indies in a shake-up after the recent 4-0 Ashes defeat in Australia.
The pair — England's two leading wicket-takers — have 1,177 Test dismissals between them and Broad, 35, is frustrated and at a loss to explain his omission.
"The decision to leave me out of the tour of West Indies has hit me pretty hard. Not to big it up too much, but it has affected my sleep," Broad wrote in his column in the Mail on Sunday.
"I have been Test match standard for a long time and, for the last eight years, you would say world-class.
"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."
Broad, who has 537 wickets in 152 Tests, said he was "waking up more confused and angrier with each passing day" and added: "I feel gutted".
The right-armer 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 Andrew Strauss.
Explaining he felt the decision was "unjust", Broad said he was "struggling to put things into context".
"It's hard to do so when all you've had is a five-minute phone call and nothing else."
Also left out of the 16-player squad for the three-match series beginning on March 9 were opening batters Rory Burns and Haseeb Hameed, No.3 bat Dawid Malan, spinner Dom Bess, and wicketkeeper-batters Jos Buttler and Sam Billings.
Wicketkeeper Ben Foakes was recalled to the squad, while four uncapped players were included in opening batter Alex Lees, seam bowlers Saqib Mahmood and Matthew Fisher, and leg-spinner Matt Parkinson.
England squad: 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