English
pacer Stuart Board on Sunday admitted to being “hit pretty hard” by the omission
from England’s squad for the upcoming tour of the West Indies. Broad and his long-time
partner James Anderson, England’s leading wicket-takers who have a total of 1,177
Test dismissals between them, have both been left out of the squad as England look
for a reset after the Ashes humiliation.

Former England
skipper Andrew Strauss and interim head coach Paul Collingwood, who are part of
the selection panel, said they were looking for a new approach to the team
after the 4-0 series loss Down Under. Strauss said he had spoken with Broad and
Anderson about their omission, adding he hoped they would understand the decision. 

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“I always
try to find a positive in the hand that has been dealt to me,” Broad wrote in a
column for the Daily Mail. “To be honest, though, that’s been quite tricky this
time because the decision to leave me out of the tour of West Indies has hit me
pretty hard. Not to big it up too much but it has affected my sleep.”

“I said to
my partner Mollie (King) one morning that my body felt sore. She suggested that
would be stress. No, I can’t pretend I am as good as gold, because I am not. It
would be wrong to act like everything’s OK.”

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Broad said the decision has particularly left him perplexed as he has been “world class” for at least the last eight years. He said he took 11 wickets in the final two Ashes Test matches and has been in “Test-match standard” for a long time. 

England will travel to the Caribbean for a three-match Test series, starting on March 8 in Antigua. The West Indies edged the Three Lions in the recently-concluded five-match T20I series 3-2.