Vaughan “quite happy” with England’s Anderson and Broad axing

James Anderson and Stuart Broad have both been dropped by England for their upcoming tour of the West Indies

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Former England captain Michael Vaughan has claimed that dropping both James Anderson and Stuart Broad for the Test series against the West Indies is “smart”.

Despite being England’s two leading wicket-takers of all time, with 1,177 Test scalps between them, England have left them out of their squad for their first post-Ashes Test series.

Sir Andrew Strauss said the pair had been dropped as they felt it was “important to look at some exciting new bowling potential and give some added responsibility to other players who have featured previously.”

Strauss also emphasised that the decision “does not mean the end” for Anderson and Broad’s Test careers.

And Vaughan says he is “quite happy” with the call, stating England are “trying to build a team that can win in Australia” and that they will have to “take a step back to potentially move forward in the future”.

In his latest column for the Telegraph, Vaughan wrote: “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 in 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.

“I’m quite happy with this selection. They clearly feel that they need to move away from that pair. That’s the message – Joe Root and his team want to build a new team without Broad and Anderson.

“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.

“Ultimately I think Strauss would have said, ‘wait a minute, we’re trying to build a team that can win in all countries’.

“The long-term goal is trying to build a team that can win in Australia. In the short-term it might be that England are going to take a step back to potentially move forward in the future.”