Former England batter Mark Ramprakash has described the decision to drop James Anderson and Stuart Broad for next month’s tour of the West Indies as “seismic”.
England’s interim management team of Sir Andrew Strauss and Paul Collingwood, assisted by lead scout James Taylor, have left out the country’s leading wicket-takers and former vice-captain Jos Buttler.
Head coach Chris Silverwood, assistant Graham Thorpe and director of men’s cricket Ashley Giles all departed their roles in the wake of England’s humiliating 4-0 Ashes defeat in Australia and the selectors have now turned their attention to the under-performing playing squad.
Ramprakash told Sky Sports News: “This is seismic. I mean this is really an earthquake in cricketing terms. It seems these two great bowlers may have paid the price for the Ashes defeat.
“I hope it’s not the end of their careers but whether they will be in the frame to be selected in the summer, there’s a huge question mark.
“Young players learn off great players, by being alongside them, and not having them in the squad does mean there’s a huge hole in the England Test side.”
Anderson, 39, has taken 640 Test wickets in 169 matches and almost 19 years – more than any other pace bowler in history – while Broad, 35, is close behind with 537 in 152 appearances.
Ramprakash added: “I never saw this coming because really there’s been so much focus on England’s poor batting displays, particularly in Australia, but also last summer, and it seems that these two great bowlers may have paid the price for the Ashes defeat.
This is seismic. I mean this is really an earthquake in cricketing terms
“I hope it’s not the end of their careers, because they’ve been such unbelievable servants for England.”
Joe Root has retained his captaincy for next month’s series in the Caribbean and although former skipper Michael Atherton said it was “probably the right thing” to keep faith with him, he added the “focus has to come back on the players and the captain”.
Atherton told Sky Sports: “It’s a short-term appointment as such because Strauss made it clear, he’s right behind Joe Root for now, but that appointment is very much in the hands of whoever the director of cricket will be.
“It’s probably the right thing to stick with him for now. I do think the focus has to come back on the players and the captain.
“There’s been a lot of talk about the coaches over the last few weeks, but the captain and the players need to take responsibility for performance.
“Joe Root has been party to many of those decisions that have cost other people their jobs, and it’s really only a lack of alternatives that has determined that he continues to lead England in the Caribbean.
“Whether that will be the case beyond the tour, who knows? We’ll have to wait and see.”
