Angry Anderson prays it’s not over as England leaves for West Indies

James Anderson has admitted that he was angry and frustrated about being dropped from England’s Test squad for the tour to the West Indies.

James Anderson appeals for a wicket during the Ashes series.

James Anderson has admitted that he was angry and frustrated about being dropped from England’s Test squad for the tour to the West Indies and says he is praying that his England career is not over.

Anderson, 39, and Stuart Broad, 35, with a combined Test wicket tally of 1,177, were omitted from the squad that departed on Thursday for the three-match series in the Caribbean, which starts in Antigua on March 8.

Anderson said that he believed he had “one more go at digging deep” to try to win his place back in the team in the summer, and is now focused on playing county cricket for Lancashire at the start of the season. However, England’s most successful bowler did admit his deep frustration at the way he was told that he had been left out of the squad by Andrew Strauss, England’s interim director of men’s cricket.

“Another frustration was that a five-minute phone call doesn’t really clear much up,” Anderson said on the BBC’s Tailenders podcast — a complaint that was shared by Broad, who wrote in his Mail on Sunday column that he had been angered by such a short call.

“It was a shock and a disappointment to get that call but having processed it, it is important I focus on stuff I can control and that’s showing people what I can do with the ball in my hand,” Anderson said.

“There have been a few texts between me and Broady getting some anger and frustration out but now that has gone, it is about looking to stuff we can affect. I think I have one more go at digging deep (to carry on), I have dug deep a lot over the last 20 years but I still love playing. I’m praying this isn’t the end.”

Joe Root, speaking for the first time since returning from England’s dismal tour to Australia and the sackings of the cricket director Ashley Giles and the head coach Chris Silverwood, reiterated that both bowlers still had a future with England.

“I’ve spoken to Stuart and Jimmy, they are obviously disappointed and angry,” Root, 31, said. “But no one is saying this is the end for them.”

Despite England’s poor Test results over the past 18 months, Root remains as Test captain. He will lead a 17-man squad to the Caribbean, where England have not won a series since 2004.

The Times