Broad ‘angry, gutted, frustrated’ at England

Stuart Broad has said he is “angry, frustrated and gutted” at being dropped for the ongoing first Test between England and West Indies. The 34-year old was left out of the XI at the Ageas Bowl as England opted for the extra pace on Mark Wood and Jofra Archer to supplement James Anderson. The West Indies made it to 57 for one at stumps on day two after England were bowled out for 204 following stand-in captain Ben Stokes’ decision to bat first, and some began to wonder if Broad might have made more telling contributions than the trio of Anderson, Wood and Archer. Broad was informed of the decision at 6pm on Tuesday – the night before the Test began – and had a meeting with national selector Ed Smith on Thursday evening to get some “clarifications on the future”. The omission ended a streak of 51 home Test matches for Broad. “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.”