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Cricket Players'We may now never see Broad or Anderson playing for England again': Ex-ENG captain makes bold statement on duo's future
The former England captain has now addressed the development, saying that the ECB are “trying to create a culture” away from the star English bowling duo.
England's all-time leading Test wicket-takers James Anderson and Stuart Broad were the highest-profile casualties as the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) reacted to the drubbing in Australia with sweeping changes to the squad for the three-test tour of West Indies next month.
Fast bowlers Anderson and Broad have taken a combined 1,177 wickets in Tests but were left out of the 16-man squad by a selection panel comprising of interim managing director Andrew Strauss, interim head coach Paul Collingwood, and head scout James Taylor.
Former England captain Michael Vaughan has now addressed the development, saying that the ECB is “trying to create a culture” away from the star English bowling duo.
“England want to build a new culture. That’s what has led them to the huge decision to drop Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad from the squad to the West Indies. They're trying to create a culture away from Broad and Anderson," wrote Vaughan in his column for The Telegraph.
“Sometimes high-class senior bowlers can be an issue in the side. That's not saying they’re not good people - they are - but you sometimes need to move forward. That sends a strong message to the team.”
Vaughan also said that he's “quite happy with this selection,” and insisted that the long-term goal behind a move such as this is “trying to build a team that can win in Australia.”
The former English skipper further added that Anderson and Broad's future in international cricket is unpredictable.
"It doesn’t mean it’s the end for Anderson and Broad. They might well play in the summer. Strauss will know that he’ll get Anderson and Broad with a point to prove and the Dukes ball at home, where they can still be lethal. One of them could even play in the 2023 Ashes, which they would have hoped to be their final series.
“But there are never any guarantees in sport. We may now never see Broad or Anderson playing for England again. And you could argue that if they do return there’s a problem and it means those who’ve got the chance haven’t capitalised,” said Vaughan.
