Former England captain Michael Vaughan is impressed with England’s 16-man Test team for the forthcoming West Indies series. After a poor performance in the previous Ashes in Australia, England’s interim management team of Strauss and Paul Collingwood, aided by lead scout James Taylor, dismissed stalwarts James Anderson and Stuart Broad from the Test squad. Both veterans have been the most valuable contributors on the side for the past decade, but their recent form has not been that promising.
England was defeated 0-4 by Australia, and head coach Chris Silverwood was fired as a result. Jos Buttler, who hasn’t had the same effect in the limited-overs format despite being handed a long rope, was left out, and a slew of new faces was given a chance.
“England want to build a new culture. That’s what has led them to the huge decision to drop Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad from the squad to the West Indies. They’re trying to create a culture away from Broad and Anderson. Sometimes high-class senior bowlers can be an issue on the side. That’s not saying they’re not good people – they are – but you sometimes need to move forward. That sends a strong message to the team,” Vaughan wrote in his column for Telegraph.
Vaughan believes that England is looking forward to forging a new culture without Anderson and Broad and that it is a powerful message in terms of getting the England side back on track in Tests as quickly as possible. He also praised skipper Joe Root’s choice to separate himself from the two in the pursuit of long-term success. England has been losing a lot of Tests recently, which is one of the reasons for the seasoned bowlers being dropped.
“I’m quite happy with this selection. They clearly feel that they need to move away from that pair. That’s the message – (captain) Joe Root and his team want to build a new team without Broad and Anderson. The England management have seen something in the pair that has made them want to drop them.
“I think it’s smart, what Andrew Strauss has done. This has got the mark of Strauss on it. He’s trying to build a new culture. The long-term goal is trying to build a team that can win in Australia,” he added.
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