Stuart Broad: "I am waking up more confused and angrier with each passing day"

England seamer has written a column in which he explains his frustration over the decision to drop him from the Test squad for the trip to the Caribbean

Stuart Broad has had trouble sleeping as he struggles to come to terms with the decision to leave him out of England's Test squad for the tour of the Caribbean.

Broad and his long-term sparring partner James Anderson were both excluded from the group which will play three Tests against West Indies in March - a decision made by interim managing director of England men's cricket Sir Andrew Strauss in consultation with interim head coach Paul Collingwood and selector James Taylor.

The news was poorly received among supporters of the national team and, Broad says, it has affected him greatly.

Writing in the Mail on Sunday, the experienced seamer explained how he has not been able to rest properly since receiving the phone call from Strauss to inform him he had been dropped. 

He has sought counsel from his partner Mollie King and mother Carole but, in a raw and frank column, he said: "I can't pretend I am as good as gold, because I am not. It would be wrong to act like everything's okay."

^{Stuart Broad has been left out of England's trip to the Caribbean (Steve Bell/Getty Images)}

"If I had spoken to one person who had said they agreed with the decision to leave myself and Jimmy out, I could perhaps begin to understand," he wrote.

"Do I believe I warrant a place in England's best team in Antigua on March 8? Of course, I do. That is why it is so difficult to comprehend."

Broad said he has taken a slither of solace from the knowledge that, come the summer, a new, full-time selection panel should be in position. Strauss, meanwhile, has publicly said the door is not shut on either him or Anderson.

Still, that has not helped heal the wounds of this decision. 

Broad has previously proven he is not scared of voicing his opinion when he feels he has been unjustly omitted from the Test side - as was evident during the 2020 summer when he gave a candid interview to Sky Sports after being left out of a game against West Indies in Southampton.

And this latest, eloquent explanation is likely to cause ripples in the game.

"I spoke to my mum Carole on Friday because I am waking up more confused and angrier with each passing day, and she just advised me to take time, step away from the game for a bit and figure things out," he wrote.

^{Broad is unhappy with the decision to omit him (Steve Bell/Getty Images)}

"Time can be a great healer, she says. But right now, I feel gutted. Do I need to prove myself again? In my mind, I've nothing to prove. I am a proven performer, so it is now about the English cricketing summer and mentally and physically targeting the home series against New Zealand in June.

"What I would say is there have been times when I have been able to answer such questions with ease. But as things stand, feeling as though I've performed well and deserve to be in the side makes it hard.

"Understandably, people will ask if there has therefore been some fall-out behind the scenes, a bit of a rumble during the Ashes, but I can categorically say that is not the case. Hence, neither Jimmy nor I saw this coming. We were blindsided."

England are due to fly to Antigua on February 24. The first Test takes place on the island from March 8, with further games scheduled for Barbados and Grenada.

A new-look squad, including uncapped Yorkshire seamer Matthew Fisher and Durham batsman Alex Lees, will be tasked with bouncing back from the 4-0 Ashes hammering.