'Gutted' Broad sought future reassurance after Southampton snub

An “angry and gutted” Stuart Broad sought reassurance about his England future after being dropped for the ongoing series opener against West Indies, the 34-year-old quick said on Friday.

England’s decision to go with James Anderson, Jofra Archer and Mark Wood for the first Test in Southampton snapped Broad’s run of 51 consecutive home Tests.

“I’m not a particularly emotional person but I’ve found the last couple of days quite tough,” the right-arm paceman told Sky Sports.

“To say I’m disappointed would be an understatement: you get disappointed if you drop your phone and break your screen.

“I’ve been frustrated, angry and 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.”

Broad said stand-in skipper Ben Stokes had explained his omission for the first match of the three-Test series against West Indies.

“Stokesy told me just that they’re going with extra pace in these conditions,” said Broad.

“I wanted clarifications on the future going forward and I was given pretty positive feedback going forward.

“I spoke to (national selector) Ed Smith last night and he said he’s involved in picking the 13 and this was picked purely for this pitch.”

Broad acknowledged competition was intense for a place in the pace department.

“We’re in quite a unique position this summer: very rarely do you get all your bowlers fit like we’ve got at the minute and all your bowlers ready to go,” he said.

“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.”