Stuart Broad has hit out at the decision of the England management to leave him out of the Test squad for their tour of the West Indies in March.

Andrew Strauss, England Men’s interim managing director, led a makeshift selection panel which took the controversial decision to leave Broad and England’s leading Test wicket-taker James Anderson out of the touring party for the Caribbean. This is not the first time that Broad has reacted angrily to being left out by England; he also vented his frustration at being dropped for the first Test against the West Indies in 2020.

“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. That’s why I was so outspoken when I was left out against West Indies in Southampton a couple of years ago. It felt unjust”, Broad said in his column in the Mail on Sunday. “I always try to find a positive in the hand that has been dealt to me. To be honest, though, that’s been quite tricky this time because the decision to leave me out of the tour of West Indies has hit me pretty hard.”

Broad took 13 wickets in three Tests at an impressive average of 26.30 during this winter’s 4-0 Ashes defeat in Australia. His good recent form, which included figures of 5-101 at Sydney, is one positive that Broad says he can cling on to.

“From a personal perspective, the only positive I can cling to is that my form — and you could add Jimmy Anderson’s recent performances to this too — has been good. I took 11 wickets in the final two Ashes matches, I have been Test match standard for a long time and, for the last eight years, you would say world class.”

Broad has taken the most wickets of any pace bowler in the world since the start of 2014, with 303 scalps at an average of 25.87. The seamer with the second most wickets in that period is Broad’s teammate Anderson. He says his excellent stats don’t make his exclusion any less frustrating, however.

“If I was averaging 100 with the ball recently and had a terrible record in the Caribbean, then OK, try someone else. But I’ve bowled well there in the past and West Indies are a team I’ve had pretty good success against. Yes, we do need to question a lot of things, but surely you must play your best players to win Test matches.”

Broad also said the fact that none of those he has spoken to agree with the decision makes it harder to comprehend.

“I suppose the support I have received elsewhere tells me how other people feel,” he said. “For example, I have had more WhatsApps over the last few days than when I took eight for 15 to beat the Australians at Trent Bridge in 2015.

“I hopped on the Tube in London the following day and people were asking ‘What on earth is going on?’ I couldn’t explain it. How do you? If anything, that compounds my frustration because if I had spoken to one person who had said they agreed with the decision to leave myself and Jimmy out, I could perhaps begin to understand. Do I believe I warrant a place in England’s best team in Antigua on March 8? Of course, I do. That is why it is so difficult to comprehend.”

He also dismissed suggestions that the decision was done to him and Anderson making for a troublesome presence in the dressing room.

“Understandably, people will ask if there has therefore been some fall-out behind the scenes, a bit of a rumble during the Ashes, but I can categorically say that is not the case,” he said. “Hence, neither Jimmy nor I saw this coming. We were blindsided.

“Honestly, the atmosphere within the team, although we were getting beaten by Australia, was good. I repeat, the reason I was given for being left out was they wanted to change tack in trying to win abroad.”

One thing Broad did not comment on is whether his exclusion from the current squad might prompt him to consider his Test future:

“Has this episode changed the way I think about my career? I just can’t answer that at the moment,” he said. “I am waking up more confused and angrier with each passing day.”

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