James Anderson and Stuart Broad have been dropped for England 's upcoming three Test series against the West Indies as the fallout from the Ashes continues.
Anderson and Broad are among eight players to have been axed from England's Ashes squad, along with Jos Buttler, Rory Burns, Dawid Malan, Haseeb Hameed, Dom Bess and Sam Billings.
While the decisions to drop those six were largely expected, the axing of Anderson and Broad is both a shocking and bold move from an interim selection committee consisting of Sir Andrew Strauss, Paul Collingwood, James Taylor and Root.
Both players have spoken openly of their desire to continue their Test careers, despite the fact that Anderson will turn 40 this summer and Broad will turn 36.
They are England's two leading wicket-takers of all time and have picked up a total of 1,177 Test scalps between them.
Strauss said the pair had been dropped as England felt it was "important to look at some exciting new bowling potential and give some added responsibility to other players who have featured previously."
He also emphasised that the decision "does not mean the end" for them, adding "Broad and Anderson will very much be in the mix" for selection this summer.
On the face of it, Strauss' explanation does make some sense as Anderson and Broad will not be able to keep going forever.
Handing the likes of Mark Wood, Chris Woakes and Ollie Robinson more responsibility and Saqib Mahmood and Matt Fisher debuts could help make the inevitable transition to life after Anderson and Broad easier.
However, the pair have showed no real signs of slowing down yet, averaging 23.37 and 26.30 respectively in the Ashes - better than their career averages.
One of the points Strauss made was how England desperately need to improve their record overseas and, after a chastening experience in Australia, beating the West Indies would be the perfect way to start.
The West Indies may no longer be the fearsome side which dominated world cricket in the 1980s and 1990s, but England have not won a Test series in the Caribbean since 2004.
One of the biggest criticisms levelled at them last year was the constant obsession with planning for the future, with the rest and rotation policy that coach Chris Silverwood said was done to ensure players would be "fit and in form" for the Ashes contributing to a record nine Test defeats last year.
Broad even said during the Ashes that such planning becomes "irrelevant" if England do not focus on "what's ahead of us right now".
He said: "It's all well and good planning for the Ashes, planning for the next away Ashes, looking at the World Test Championship, but actually, if you don't win the battle in front of you, it's all irrelevant.
"Can we get back to the real basics of what's ahead of us right now? How are we winning this next Test match? I'd urge us to do that."
However, England have continued with the kind of future planning which cost Silverwood and Ashley Giles their jobs instead of simply picking the strongest team to go and beat the West Indies.
And given this selection committee will not be in place past this tour, dropping Anderson and Broad now is bizarre as their performances simply do not warrant it.
Can we not just focus on trying to win a Test series in the West Indies for the first time in 18 years? Because there is no doubt that would prove an easier task with both Anderson and Broad in the team.
