England fans are pessimistic about their attempts to replace James Anderson and Stuart Broad in the upcoming series against West Indies.
Both Anderson and Broad were controversially dropped for the series, despite being among England’s better performers in the Ashes debacle earlier in the winter, with the interim managing director of men’s cricket at the ECB, Andrew Strauss, arguing it is time for new leadership in the squad.
However, it is not a decision that has gone down well with England fans, with the results of a Mirror Cricket survey showing that the majority felt neither Broad nor Anderson deserved to be dropped.
Nearly three-quarters of respondents - 74.7% - believe Broad should not have been dropped after taking 13 wickets at 26.30 to be England’s in the Ashes, being the side’s second-highest wicket-taker in the series despite playing in just three Tests.
The results are similar for Anderson, with 71.5% of fans arguing the 39-year-old should not have been dropped after a series that saw him average 23.37 at an economy rate of just 1.79.
With England’s series against West Indies set to begin next week, fans are not confident that the side’s bowling will be good enough without Broad and Anderson.
Just 21.3% of fans believe that England’s new-look attack, which will likely comprise of Mark Wood, Chris Woakes, Ollie Robinson, Jack Leach and one more pace bowler, will be good enough to compete without Broad and Anderson.
Strauss has not shut the door on the veteran duo returning, with both players stating in the media recently that they were focused on winning their places back after the shock of being dropped.
Yet most England fans believe the duo’s absence marks the end of their decorated England careers, with 59.8% of survey respondents stating that they did not expect to see either player feature for their country again.
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