Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad left out of England…

Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad left out of England Test squad for West Indies tour

England have left their leading wicket-takers of all time, James Anderson and Stuart Broad, out of a much-changed squad containing four uncapped players for the three-Test tour of the Caribbean in the wake of their Ashes drubbing.

Last week, England dispensed of the services of Managing Director Ashley Giles, Head Coach and Selector Chris Silverwood and Assistant Coach Graham Thorpe.

Now an Interim selection panel made up of Andrew Strauss, Paul Collingwood (who will coach the team in the Caribbean) and Head Scout James Taylor have swung the axe on playing group.

Opener Alex Lees, of Durham, and seamer Matt Fisher, of Yorkshire, are called up for the first time, while Matt Parkinson and Saqib Mahmood are in contention for Test debuts.

Also recalled is Ben Foakes, the Surrey wicketkeeper.

In addition to Anderson and Broad, Jos Buttler, Dawid Malan, Rory Burns, Haseeb Hameed, Sam Billings, and Dom Bess are dropped from the squad that lost the Ashes 4-0.

Ollie Pope and Chris Woakes, who had poor tours of Australia, survive, however, along with Dan Lawrence and Craig Overton, who went unselected throughout the tour.

Anderson, 39, and Broad, 35, have both been left out of the tour squad but Strauss was insistent that their Test careers are not over. The pair share close to 1,200 Test wickets and have each played more than 150 Tests.

The move is reminiscent of Strauss’s decision to drop both men from England’s ODI setup after the World Cup debacle of 2015, when a new group of players were set on the path to winning the tournament four years later.

"With the start of a new cycle, it has allowed the selection panel to refresh the Test squad with a particular focus on competing away from home,” said Strauss.

"We felt that it was time to draw a line after the Ashes defeat, look forward and give some impetus with an influx of new players.

"In respect of James Anderson and Stuart Broad, I want to emphasise this does not mean the end for them as England players. We feel that it is important to look at some exciting new bowling potential and give some added responsibility to other players who have featured previously. No one doubts the quality and experience that James and Stuart bring to the England set-up. It will be up to the new managing director and permanent head coach to decide on whether they will be involved this summer and beyond.

"This selection of this squad is the start of a process and a journey to get England Test cricket back to where it needs to be, and the hard work starts now."