James Anderson and Stuart Broad dropped as England make changes for West Indies

Broad and Anderson, two of England's greatest-ever bowlers, have taken 1,177 Test wickets between them

England will face West Indies without James Anderson and Stuart Broad after the pair were left out of the squad for the three-Test tour next month.

The huge call to drop two of England's greatest bowlers, who have taken 1,177 Test wickets between them, is the first made by interim managing director Sir Andrew Strauss since the former captain replaced Ashley Giles in the role, with Paul Collingwood temporarily in as head coach following Chris Silverwood's dismissal.

Broad and Anderson are not the only casualties of a squad picked with a rebuild in mind; in all, eight members of the Ashes party miss out: Dawid Malan, Jos Buttler, Sam Billings, Haseeb Hameed, Rory Burns and Dom Bess are also excluded.

Jonny Bairstow and Chris Woakes keep their places, while Matt Fisher – Bairstow's Yorkshire teammate – is also included after impressing on England Lions' tour of Australia that ran concurrently with the start of the Ashes series. Alex Lees, the Durham opener, is also in. So, too, is Saqib Mahmood.

Ollie Pope also survives despite a horror series during which he was jettisoned after 67 runs in six innings.

^{Broad and Anderson have taken 1,177 Test wickets between them (Chris Hyde/Getty Images)}

But it is the decision to dispense with Anderson and Broad that will claim most of the headlines.

England's comprehensive Ashes defeat was founded on a lack of runs, and it was roundly accepted that Broad and Anderson should have played in the first Test at Brisbane but were instead left out, saved up with the pink-ball match at Adelaide in mind.

Broad still claimed 13 wickets in three games, while Anderson has taken 372 wickets at 23.85 apiece since his 30th birthday.

In a statement, Strauss said the door has not been closed on either Broad or Anderson.

"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," he said.

"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."

^{England are looking to bounce back from a miserable Ashes campaign}

Buttler's future in the side remains unclear - he misses this tour having broken a finger during the Ashes trip - and Bairstow will compete with Ben Foakes for the gloves in the Caribbean.

With only two openers selected - Lees and Zak Crawley - the batting lineup generally takes care of itself.

The Cricketer understands captain Joe Root has been told he will bat at No.3, while a middle order of Ben Stokes, Bairstow and one of Pope and Dan Lawrence appears likely.

With Bess missing out, Matt Parkinson - the Lancashire leg-spinner - will challenge Jack Leach for a starting spot.

England squad: Joe Root (Yorkshire), Jonny Bairstow (Yorkshire), Zak Crawley (Kent), Matthew Fisher (Yorkshire), Ben Foakes (Surrey), Dan Lawrence (Essex), Jack Leach (Somerset), Alex Lees (Durham), Saqib Mahmood (Lancashire), Craig Overton (Somerset), Matthew Parkinson (Lancashire), Ollie Pope (Surrey), Ollie Robinson (Sussex), Ben Stokes (Durham), Chris Woakes (Warwickshire), Mark Wood (Durham)