Former England captain Nasser Hussain has slammed the decision to drop James Anderson and Stuart Broad for their upcoming Test series against the West Indies.
Broad revealed in an explosive column for the Mail on Sunday that he found out he had been dropped in a "five-minute phone call" with the ECB 's interim managing director Sir Andrew Strauss.
"I could take being dropped if I had let my standards slip but facing up to being overlooked when they haven't is another thing altogether," Broad wrote.
"I am struggling to put things into context. It's hard to do so when all you've had is a five-minute phone call and nothing else."
And Hussain has criticised the way Anderson and Broad have been treated, insisting the pair "deserve better" and highlighting the fact that England's biggest issue in Test cricket is with their batting line-up.
"They are anything but diminishing cricketers, as they have shown over the last couple of years," Hussain wrote in his Daily Mail column.
"Anderson, in particular, has proven himself far more than a one-dimensional bowler. His away form has been phenomenal.
"Yes, England do need to move on from their two champion fast bowlers at some stage, but that can come from natural progression. Certainly their issues have been in the batting, regularly being 20 for three or bowled out for 150. That is not Broad and Anderson's fault.
"Broad and Anderson deserve better than this. They deserve loyalty. They have been there for England time after time. The work they put in behind the scenes, the training, the fitness, the coming back from injury, strapping on the boots to pull the batsmen out of another hole.
"They are all-time great cricketers, still at the top of their game into their late and mid-30s.
"It can only be hoped that their long and distinguished careers have not been ended by a five-minute phone call."
