GIANT SLAYER

Strauss: Axing stars will create new feel

- Dean Wilson

SIR ANDREW STRAUSS has admitted Stuart Broad and Jimmy Anderson were dropped in order to create “a different feel” to the Test team.

Ahead of England’s tour to West Indies, Strauss chose his words carefully underneath two giant posters of the pair in the ECB boardroom.

But it was the closest the interim managing director came to explaining that the two legends might have unintentionally stifled the leadership qualities of others, as well as causing a backlog of bowlers who should be starting to flourish.

When it comes to performance, both Anderson and Broad remain exceptional Test-match animals, with the former still streets ahead of any other England bowler.