England drop Anderson, Broad from Test squad for West Indies series
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ENGLAND have left out their all-time leading wicket-takers, James Anderson and Stuart Broad, for the forthcoming Test series against West Indies.
In the wake of coach Chris Silverwood's firing after a dismal Ashes series (with Australia prevailing 4-0), England will be led in the Caribbean by captain Joe Root and interim coach Paul Collingwood.
There has been a push to freshen up their red-ball squad for the three-match tussle, starting in Antigua on March 8, and that has meant Anderson and Broad losing their places.
The selection panel, consisting of interim managing director of cricket Andrew Strauss, Collingwood and head scout James Taylor, named a 16-man squad on Tuesday.
As well as Broad and Anderson, six other players who featured in Australia have been left out: Dom Bess, Sam Billings, Jos Buttler, Dawid Malan and openers Rory Burns and Haseeb Hameed, who both endured poor stints Down Under.
Strauss contended this was by no means definitely the end of the road in Tests for Broad, 35, or Anderson, who turns 40 in July. Between them, the pair have taken 1,177 wickets in 321 Tests.
"In respect of James Anderson and Stuart Broad, I want to emphasise this does not mean the end for them as England players," said Strauss, who captained both seamers during his playing career.
"No one doubts the quality and experience that James and Stuart bring to the England set-up. It will be up to the new managing director and permanent coach to decide on whether they will be involved this summer and beyond."
Durham opener Alex Lees and Yorkshire seamer Matthew Fisher have earned maiden call-ups, while Lancashire's Saqib Mahmood and Matt Parkinson will be aiming to make their Test debuts.
Wicketkeeper Ben Foakes has also been included in Buttler's absence, having not featured since playing against India in March 2021.
England squad: Joe Root (captain), Jonny 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.
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