In light of the recent Ashes series result, a number of people responsible for aspects of England’s performance resigned their positions. These included coaches Chris Silverwood and Graeme Thorpe, while director of cricket Ashley Giles also moved on.
As an interim measure, Andrew Strauss was made managing director of men’s cricket. He made the decisions on who should tour the West Indies for a three-Test series.
He announced the squad last Tuesday and there were some interesting inclusions in Matt Parkinson, Alex Lees and Matt Fisher, but there were two glaring omissions – James Anderson and Stuart Broad.
Strauss talked with both players prior to the squad being announced, and here’s a sample of his comments.
“I’m not going to say anything other than they were disappointed and I wouldn’t expect anything otherwise. They take great pride in representing England and they both wanted to be on that tour.”
“We know there’s going to be a lot of interest in the decision, but we feel like we’re doing it for the right reasons and this is going to help the England team to develop at a time when it really needs to develop quickly.”
“They were very hard conversations. All I can say is I hope they understood the thinking behind it and what we’re trying to achieve here, and also that they got the message very strongly that this isn’t the end for them, because we want them fired up and ready to go in the summer.”
In short, Strauss sees the West Indies tour as a chance to bring new players into the squad and give them the chance to gain some experience.
Strauss probably assumed both players, while disappointed, were on board with his decision, but clearly Stuart Broad is not, judging by recent comments he made in an article for the Daily Mail.
This is how the first part of his article appeared online: “I’m waking up more confused and angrier each day… I could take being dropped if my standards slipped but I feel gutted that all I’ve had is a five-minute phone call and nothing else.”
Broad continues on this issue for another 28 paragraphs, which makes for some grim reading. He clearly feels aggrieved and as one of England’s best bowlers for the past decade, he probably has a case. According to Wisden, either he or Anderson have been England’s leading Test wicket takers over the past nine years.
James Anderson and Stuart Broad (Photo by Visionhaus/Getty Images)
He also has a point if, as he claims, he has only received a “five-minute phone call” to tell him he was not touring and to explain why he was left out. I’m guessing the truth lies somewhere between Strauss’s version of events and Broad’s.
We have to bear in mind the decision to leave out Broad and Anderson is not the only tough call Strauss has made.
No Rory Burns or Haseeb Hameed, Ben Foakes confirmed as the England Test keeper, Jack Leach confirmed as England’s first-choice spinner and Joe Root moving up the order to No.3, are all strategic decisions he believes are in the best interests of English cricket.
What has to be a concern is public condemnation by Broad of the decision to exclude him from the tour.
There’s no doubt Stuart Broad is a very popular figure in English cricket, and rightly so. He’s been an outstanding player in all formats for such a long time. The question is, does that give him the right to not only question Strauss publicly, but to openly condemn this call?
Strauss has made it very clear he still expects Broad and Anderson to figure prominently in the international matches England has scheduled for their summer.
That could be problematic if the new attack has a lot of success in the West Indies. What does Strauss do if Matt Fisher, Mark Wood and Ollie Robinson all have the sort of series Scott Boland, Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc had in the Ashes?
I’d also assume Strauss must be furious to be reading about this rather than having a behind-closed-doors discussion with Broad. Will that cloud his judgement if he’s still in a position to affect who is chosen for the Tests against New Zealand later in the year?
What also has to be problematic is Broad’s attitude. Publicly condemning a decision made by the current strong man in English cricket can hardly be considered a career-enhancing move.
He no doubt thinks he can get away with it, given his long service to England, but as many cricketers have found over the years, the game can move on pretty well without them.
There’s no doubt English Test cricket is not in a good place and the only way it’s going to improve is by working in a united manner to achieve improvement.
Strauss wants that improvement to happen quickly, hence the radical overhaul of the Test squad, but obviously he and at least one senior player don’t see eye to eye on this.
It begs the question how many others feel the same as Broad and also what can Strauss do to make sure any rifts between players, selectors, and coaches are addressed quickly.
Choppy Zezers
Roar Rookie
They will need 5 reviews and several thousand recommendations from their board/former players/current players/Twitter before the long awaited Elite Sucklessness Policy is introduced
Barney forever
Guest
Can easily say the same about Australia on that front. England have many, many faults that have been called out on racism, but they honestly look faultless compared to Australia here. Players of Asian heritage can be counted on one hand here, and there are plenty in the rank and file clubs growing up. You could at least name a moderately competitive All time British-Asian XI test team...indeed, even a captain in Nasser Hussain. You can't do that here. There's only been 3-4 to play test cricket. Agar, Khawaja, Whatmore... Our reckoning will come soon enough as well, and I reckon it will be worse.
Paul
Roar Guru
Really interesting question, Ace. Michael Atherton said Langer "bled green and gold, not the blue of England" and I think he's right, as are you. That said, IMO he's a skillset that would be very useful to England cricket right now, at all levels, not just international/Test squads. I think that's why Strauss likes him as an option. Langer though must realise he'd be under a really intense microscope from all parties, most of whom would be expecting instant success. Does he need the grief that would come when England inevitably fall short, at least initially? Then there's the question of pride. Guys at his level are rightly proud of their achievements and I'm sure Langer's pride has taken a huge hit with the events of the past few weeks. What better way to show CA than to take the England job and win the Ashes back. I think he could do the job, but won't for one reason; his family. They've copped plenty of pressure over the past 12 months, not intentionally but because of his job. I get the impression Langer is happy to take some of that pressure off, at least for the next 6 months, which is when the Poms will need to find a coach.
Kevo
Roar Rookie
Their selections during the Australian summer were bizarre and set the Poms up for failure and gave the Aussies all the ascendancy. Do they need a new captain? Joe looked exhausted by the end of the tour. Stokes could be the man, and it may free Joe up to be the great batsman he is. I can see where Strauss is coming from. Sounds like Broad and Anderson. champions they have been, may need a kick in the pants and put the welfare of the team before their own egos.... and obviously they can't play forever. They'll come back angry and hungry for the English summer and this will have a positive flow on effect for competing for places in the team. And any cancer of self importance before the team will have been bled out of the system hopefully. Definitely time to inject new blood and Windies tour is the place to do it. A win or two and the whole atmosphere of English cricket could change. They also need a coach who demands fitness. Some suggest Langer and that could work...but he may bang on about the baggy green and singing under the southern cross......dont know how that would work for the Poms.
Bludger
Guest
The problem with English Test cricket teams has been spoken about in great detail. For starters the Covid restrictions the English team was under going to Australia, thus making warm up tour games unable to be played. So, they went into a test series with Australia totally unprepared. Then the domestic issues back in England. This has relegated to red ball cricket to the shoulder season of cricket over there. The professional game in England is now centred around white ball cricket in 20 overs and 100 ball tournaments. Four and five day cricket is largely an afterthought now. So, it's pretty simple whats going on with English test match cricket. It's been left in the outer.
Kevo
Roar Rookie
Their selections during the Australian summer were bizarre and set the Poms up for failure and gave the Aussies all the ascendancy. Do they need a new captain? Root looked rooted by the end of the tour. Stokes could be the man, and it may free Root up to be the great batsman he is. I can see where Strauss is coming from. Sounds like Broad and Anderson. champions they have been, may need a kick in the pants and put the welfare of the team before their own egos.... and obviously they can't play forever. They'll come back angry and hungry for the English summer and this will have a positive flow on effect for competing for places in the team. And any cancer of self importance before the team will have been bled out of the system hopefully. Definitely time to inject new blood and Windies tour is the place to do it. A win or two and the whole atmosphere of English cricket could change. They also need a coach who demands fitness. Some suggest Langer and that could work...but he may bang on about the baggy green and singing under the southern cross......dont know how that would work for the Poms.
Ace
Roar Rookie
Hi Paul. Is Langer the sort of hard bitten character that loves Australia and it's cricket that would coach England ? I personally find it hard to imagine but stranger things....
Marty
Roar Rookie
Spot on mate, Strauss isn’t silly, he knows what needs to happen. A full reset starting with the basics, and these two have made it easy for Strauss to make an example of them through their behaviour. Pretty simple message. There’s a spot for in the team, but it will be on my terms, not yours. Just like everyone else.
Paul
Roar Guru
Broad at least see’s himself as being dropped, but Strauss made it very clear that was not the case – though it may be after the public comments Broad made. Totally agree about the keeper being a key member of the team which is why Foakes is such a good selection. IMO he’s the best gloveman in world cricket and could be a pretty useful lower order batsman if he can string some Tests together
Paul
Roar Guru
I think you could include a number 12 in your list, Rosie. England cricket is way too much of a boys Club. I read a story in the past few months that talks about how marginalised cricket talent from Asian nations is, compared to white English born players. Something like 85% of the mens squads come from private schools and there's some ridiculously low percentage of English-born Asian players in County cricket, completely out of proportion with the numbers of Asian heritage Britons. I know why they're not tapping into that talent pool. You only have to look at all the racism allegations to get a pretty good idea about that but they're shooting themselves in the head because there has to be some serious talent they're ignoring.
Paul
Roar Guru
There's been a very clear explanation given by Strauss. Broad is coming to the end of his career, England needs to find replacements for he and Anderson, the West Indies tour is a starting point for that rebuilding process and Broad needs to be ready for the English summer because he's still a key member of the English Test squad. Broads comments hinge on one statement. He said he was notified of this decision in a "5 minute phone call". He then claims he had no further contact, no chance to press his case for inclusion on the tour, etc. If Strauss chose to produce evidence showing he spent considerably more time talking with Broad about this, then everything Broad has said is called into question and at the very least, makes him look like a child who hasn't gotten what he wanted. I don't think Strauss will want to go down that path, after all, why antagonise a player he might need later in the year, but he might be forced to if Broad doesn't leave this alone.
Tony
Roar Guru
I have a hunch that your hunch may be right
Rusty Brooks
Roar Rookie
Time for England to employ an Elite Sucklessness policy.
Vicboy
Roar Rookie
Woakes seems to get a game because of his batting. Robinson has a decent technique - take him home and work on it and his fitness. Can bowl well away from home, which Woakes can’t. And surely Broad is better than Jack Leach - playing a bad spinner, just to play a spinner seems like Burns should play because he is left handed!
Vicboy
Roar Rookie
Reaction to a terrible batting year - drop your 2 most successful bowlers. Retain the one bowler who is patently not fit enough for test cricket- Robinson, rather than make him do the training that Anderson does. I could understand resting Anderson, who is at the age he should be managed, but why is Broad lumped in also? Root is in a similar space to Border when we were at our nadir - so pick some young batsmen and stick. And don’t change wicket keeper every 6-8 tests. Keeper is the driver of culture on field, which flows to dressing room and batting.
Targa
Roar Rookie
Strauss had to make changes and while it will hurt in the short-term, it might be beneficial in the long-term. England has series against the Windies (away), NZ and South Africa (home), Pakistan (away) and another test at home to complete last year's series against India. No matter who they pick they might lose every series. It is important to find some bowlers for the future. I'm more interested in moving Root to 3. That could backfire spectacularly changing their one source of runs.
Just Nuisance
Roar Rookie
I’m all for moving on from Anderson and Broad . Not saying they don’t still have something to offer but at some stage young quicks in England need to be given some hope that they can actually get a shot to play International Cricket . The B/A combo have monopolized those spots for almost a combined total of about 30 years . This may not have been the way to do it but the time certainly has come . Is it only me that gets this naggin feelin that all was not well in the England dressing room this Ashes and that Broad and Anderson were somehow central to it . May also explain their culling from the team . But it’s just a hunch .
Just Nuisance
Roar Rookie
Hey ! leave us alone .
Choppy Zezers
Roar Rookie
They are sucking, that's what. Answer: stop sucking.
Marty
Roar Rookie
I also think there’s a message being sent to players regarding the content of any potential ‘tour diaries’ they may be paid to write. It’s one thing to talk about general team performance and provide some insight into the change rooms but to use it as a vehicle to openly contradict team management and whinge about the fact you’ve been dropped, while the tour is in progress, is just ridiculous. It was one of the more extraordinary aspects of the series, I can’t remember seeing anything like it previously. Did Broad and Anderson seriously think that they would be able to carry on as they did and there would be no consequences?