"The news was like being tasered" - Stuart Broad recalls his axing from England tour of West Indies in 2022

Retired England seamer Stuart Broad has recalled his axing from the tour of the West Indies in early 2022, which left him feeling "tasered". Broad recalled that he wanted to write against the ECB for their decision, but was stopped from doing so by his manager Neil Fairbrother.

Following the 4-0 Ashes drubbing that winter, England made some tough selection calls for the Caribbean tour. The selectors chose the likes of Saqib Mahmood, Matthew Fisher and Craig Overton. Broad and Anderson were omitted despite encouraging performances in the 2021-22 Ashes series but were guaranteed that their careers aren't over.

In his column for The Daily Mail, the 37-year-old wrote:

"The news was like being tasered. I had been stunned, stopped in my tracks, and for the next two weeks I wanted to vent my anger and hit back. Neil Fairbrother, my manager, talked me out of putting an inflammatory response to the announcement on Instagram, and my newspaper column for the Mail on Sunday was heavily edited by the ECB — as was their prerogative as my employers."

Broad recalled scanning Fisher's profile and being baffled at his selection, given the rookie bowler had only 21 first-class fixtures under his belt.

"Nothing personal against someone like Matt Fisher, or any doubting his talent, but I found myself logging on to Cricinfo to find out a bit about him, poring over his stats to discover he had played only 21 first-class games. I asked myself, ‘How is he better than me?’ My mind was a maelstrom. The more I tried to get my head around the situation, the worse it hurt. Naturally, one thought developed into another, and I didn’t solely consider the immediate consequences but the longer term ones."

England fought hard in the first two Tests, which ended in draws. West Indies won the third and final Test at a canter as the visitors' batting line-up imploded.

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"It was a terrible signal" - Stuart Broad

Stuart Broad. (Image Credits: Twitter)

Broad also remembered how his conversation with then interim managing director Andrew Strauss infuriated him.

"It was a terrible signal, which led to a brief, broken conversation, beginning with him informing me that unfortunately I would not be going to the Caribbean. 'We’re going to go with a younger bowling attack,’ he told me. What was I to say? I was a novice in such situations. I’d had plenty of pre-match, hotel-door knocks to inform me I had not made the XI, but a tour squad?"

The Nottinghamshire cricketer felt it was an incorrect call, given England hadn't tasted success in the West Indies for a long time.

"Whoever made the casting vote was inconsequential, but in the circumstances, it was very much a statement call, and a massive one to make, as I don’t believe in handing out England caps lightly. Especially in big series, and this was a big series. We had not defeated West Indies away for 18 years, and only defeated once since 1968."

Broad retired after the 2023 Ashes series, having taken 604 scalps in 167 Tests.