Southampton, July 11: Former England captain Nasser Hussain feels the hosts missed a trick by leaving pace spearhead Stuart Broad out of the playing XI for the first Test of #raisethebat series against West Indies at Ageas Bowl.
Veteran pacer James Anderson was given the nod alongside Mark Wood and Jofra Archer as Broad had to be content with following the action from the bench.
Broad made his feelings known on national TV after failing to make the cut and Hussain stated he was right in doing so.
"I agreed with every word Broad said, and his right to say it, which he has built up over 138 Tests for his country. And, if I'd been captain, I'd have enjoyed the fact that the decision annoyed him. I'd have liked how he sought out the national selector Ed Smith and asked for an explanation," Hussain wrote in his column for Daily Mail.
"I used to look at a player's reaction when he had been dropped. If you see a bit of grumpiness, you know he cares. And, like with Jimmy Anderson, you can't separate the grumpiness from the bowler: it's what has helped make Broad the competitor he is. Take away his edge, and he's a different beast.
"I do feel England have made a mistake by leaving him out. It's as if they've chosen a side for a flat pitch overseas with the Kookaburra -- not an English surface under grey skies with the Dukes.
"The conditions have cried out for Anderson and Broad to do their thing. If this was Brisbane, and you wanted to break up the two old warhorses, then I'd just about understand the logic. But we're talking about Southampton," he added.
Broad ended as the team's highest wicket-taker in their previous two Test series and he admitted the decision to drop him for Southampton Test was a hard one for him to understand.
"I'm not a particularly emotional person but I have found the last couple of days tough. To say disappointed is an understatement, I've been frustrated, angry, gutted, because it is quite hard to understand," Broad had said during an interview with Sky Sports.
"I've probably bowled the best I ever have in the last couple of years. I felt like it was my shirt having been in the team during the Ashes and in South Africa."
