Stuart Broad has said he was frustrated, angry and gutted by England’s decision to leave him out of the first Test against West Indies and sought talks with Ed Smith, the national selector, regarding his international future.
Broad, England’s leading wicket-taker over the past two years, missed out on a place after Ben Stokes, the stand-in captain, and head coach, Chris Silverwood, plumped for Jimmy Anderson and the 90mph-plus pace of Jofra Archer and Mark Wood.
At the toss on day one Stokes, deputising for Joe Root, said Broad took the news “like a champion”. But in a Sky interview on the third morning in Southampton, before England began their hunt for early wickets, the 34-year-old Broad got his feelings across in person.
“I found out about 6pm the night before the game.” he said. “Stokesy told me we were just going with extra pace in these conditions.
“I spoke to Ed Smith last night and he said he was [only] involved in picking the 13 and this [team] was picked purely for this pitch. I wanted clarification on my future and I was given pretty positive feedback.
“I’m not a particularly emotional person but I’ve found the last couple of days quite tough. To say I’m disappointed would be an understatement. You only get disappointed if you drop your phone and break your screen.
“I’ve been frustrated, angry, gutted – because it’s quite a hard decision to understand. I’ve probably bowled the best I’ve ever bowled in the last couple of years. I felt like it was my shirt having been in the team through the Ashes and going to South Africa and winning there.”
The move to speak with Smith was not driven by personal doubt, however, with the right-armer – 15 wickets short of 500 in Test cricket – saying his determination to continue a 138-match career has been hardened by the news and he is now targeting the second Test at Old Trafford starting next Thursday.
“It is hard to take but also I’m quite pleased I feel frustrated and feel gutted and angry because if I didn’t, I’d have a different decision to make. So I don’t think I’ve got anything to prove – England know what I can do. The selectors know what I can do. And when I get that opportunity again you can bet I’ll be on the money.
“We play 12 months of the year and some guys play all three formats. Very rarely do you get guys fit and available for each Test match. That’s where selection has been tricky. That’s where it has been tough and that’s where it’s frustrating when you don’t play. But also you can’t argue the bowlers walking on that field don’t deserve to play as well, everyone deserves to play. It’s just annoying when it’s not you in that XI.”