Joe Root has declined to divulge his role in the decision to drop Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad for the West Indies tour but said it does not shut the door on their record-breaking careers.
On the day Anderson followed Broad by venting his frustration and saying he was “praying” this is not the end, Root was pressed in his first press conference since the Ashes defeat put his own captaincy in doubt on whether he sanctioned the call, despite not having a vote in the selection meeting chaired by Andrew Strauss.
