|| Desk Report ||

England pace bowler Stuart Broad has expressed his anger and frustration at his snub from the home team after he was dropped for the first Test against visiting West Indies at Southampton.

Broad was edged out of this week’s final XI as England opted for James Anderson, Jofra Archer and Mark Wood.

While he has not always been first choice overseas for the past couple of winters he had played the previous 51 home Tests, dating back to 2012 when he was rested in a dead rubber.

This was Broad’s first incident of dropping from the team since 2012 and second only to a long-standing new-ball colleague James Anderson in England’s all-time list of leading Test wicket-takers.

With 14 wickets at fewer than 20 apiece, Broad was their most successful bowler during a 3-1 series triumph in South Africa earlier this year.

“I found out about 6:00 pm the night before the game, Stokesy told me we were just going with extra pace in these conditions,” said Stuart Broad, who picked up 485 wickets in 138 Tests for Three Lions.

And with England set to play six Tests in seven weeks, with a three-match series against Pakistan to follow the Windies campaign, it is likely Broad will be involved.

“I wanted clarification about my future going forward and I was given pretty positive feedback,” the 34-year-old paceman said.

“To say I was disappointed would be an understatement.... I’m frustrated, angry, gutted,” he also said.

“It’s difficult to understand. I’ve probably bowled the best I've ever bowled the last couple of years -- I felt it was my shirt,” he added.

Broad, however, said he did have some sympathy for the selectors’ dilemma.