England’s interim captain for the first Test match Ben Stokes has no regret leaving out veteran Stuart Broad from the final XI after the hosts lost the first Test by four wickets against West Indies.
Broad had shown his disappointment after getting dropped from the playing XI and many cricket boffins including Nasser Hussain thought England made a mistake by leaving their senior statesman.
The veteran fast bowler had been in fine form as he was England’s leading wicket-taker on the South Africa tour with 14 wickets. Broad had stated that he believed it was his shirt as he was bowling at the top of his game.
However, Stokes who led England for the first time, reckons it would send out a wrong message to the players he picked if he says he regrets his selection. Jofra Archer and Mark Wood who were preferred over Stuart Broad could only take one wicket in the first innings between them.
In fact, the Southampton pitch was on the slow side and thus England went with the extra pace of Mark Wood and Jofra Archer in place of Stuart Broad.
Furthermore, Stokes added his decision to bat first on a cloudy morning was good and he would not change it.
The talisman all-rounder stated that his team could not bat well in the first innings as they posted only 204 runs and that was a major difference in the end.
“If I was to regret that, it sends the wrong message to the other guys I picked,” Ben Stokes said after England’s loss.
“We’re in a fortunate position that we’re able to leave someone out of Stuart’s quality and I thought the interview he gave the other day was fantastic, the passion he showed.”
“Someone who’s played that many test matches and got that many wickets — to still see that desire and emotion is fantastic as a senior player in this team,” added Stokes.
Meanwhile, Joe Root will return for the second Test match at Old Trafford, Manchester which will be played from July 16. Stuart Broad is also expected to get back into the playing XI in place of Mark Wood who failed to leave an impact in the first Test.
Broad is England’s second highest wicket-taker with 485 wickets and he is going to add experience with James Anderson.
