England begin looking beyond Anderson-Broad era

England captain Joe Root has signalled the beginning of the end of the Stuart Broad and Jimmy Anderson era with the former replacing the latter in England's side for the second Test against the West Indies.

Anderson and fellow bowler Mark Wood have been 'rested' for tonight's second Test at Old Trafford – which will be live streamed on cricket.com.au and the CA Live app, including Apple TV – with Broad and Chris Woakes set to fill out the pace attack alongside Jofra Archer.

Live Match Centre: England v West Indies second Test

England have also dropped batsman Joe Denly in three changes to their side as they seek to level the series after the Windies' four-wicket win in Southampton earlier this week.

While resting two fast bowlers after a single match following a lengthy layoff due to the COVID-19 pandemic may seem unusual, England's packed schedule where they will play six Tests in seven weeks adds context.

But Root revealed England are transitioning away from having their record-breaking new-ball pair of Broad aged 34, and Anderson, 37, playing together.

"With Stuart and Jimmy, trying to maximise their careers is really important to make sure they are playing for as long as possible," said Root.

"If that has to be slightly different to how it has been over the last few years, then we might have to think outside the box and not play them in every game or not play them together all the time.

"That is not to say it won't happen again. They are two world-class performers and we are very, very lucky to have them.

"I think to wish that away early or to push them to one side would be stupid, I really do.

"But I think we've got to deal with it well and be smart with it and we will find opportunities to play other guys, too."

England added allrounder Sam Curran and uncapped Sussex fast bowler Ollie Robinson to their 13-man squad.

Broad and Anderson have a combined total of 1,072 Test wickets – with 883 of them coming in Tests they've played together.

Root, who resumes the England captaincy having missed the opening Test for the birth of his second child, will return to his preferred spot of No.4 in the line-up, pushing Zak Crawley up to No.3 after Denly was axed.

The 34-year-old Denly has been routinely criticised for failing to capitalise on his starts, having reached double figures in 24 of his 28 Test innings but only going on to make six half-centuries, with a best of 94 in the fifth Ashes Test last year.

He averages 29.53 from his 15 matches and was out for 18 and 29 in the first Test loss in Southampton, but Root insisted the door was not closed.

"Over a period of time Joe has done a brilliant job for us," said Root.

"He has helped show the identity of our side, how we want to play moving forward. He has laid the platform for guys behind to go on and make big scores.

"He'll be as frustrated as anyone that he's not been able to convert those opportunities. It's certainly not a closed door for him."

Crawley, aged just 22, scored a career-best 76 in England's second innings in the first Test defeat, his second Test fifty in his first five matches.

"He played really well," Root told BBC Sport. "You watch how he has gone about things since coming in, the way he keeps learning and developing, and his attitude towards things is very impressive."

The Windies, who quarantined and had their pre-series training at Old Trafford and have now won four of their past six Tests against England, are eyeing a first series win in the UK since 1988.

Indeed, the Caribbean side have not won an away Test series against teams other than Zimbabwe, Bangladesh and Afghanistan for 25 years, but captain Jason Holder said there was no burden of expectation on his side's shoulders.

"There's no pressure for us," added Holder. "We don't get caught up in the off-field noise. It's about us focusing on what we need to do to win the series.

"The series is still wide open. There are 10 days of cricket left. It's one day at a time for us. England are a very good team, they have some world-class players. We've got our work cut out to win another game."

"I haven't mentioned anything about history to the guys," the 28-year-old said. "It's hard for us to get caught up in the peripheral stuff.

"Winning the first Test match is just one piece of the puzzle. We've got two other games to play and we don't get ahead of ourselves.

"We've got control of the cricket we play and that's the only thing I'm going to spoon-feed the guys: How are we going to win a cricket game?

"Afterwards we can look back and feel pleased with whatever we achieve as a group."

Holder confirmed opening batsman John Campbell had escaped serious injury after being hit on the foot by an Archer yorker in the opening Test that forced him to retire hurt, and is expected to take his place in the side.

A spin-friendly surface could see off-spinner Rahkeem Cornwall earn a recall, but Holder said no decision on the make-up of his side had been made.

Fans can watch a free live stream of the second and third Tests on cricket.com.au and the CA Live app