WI vs ENG: Stuart Broad, James Anderson's Absence Not A Big Advantage For Us, Feels West Indies Coach Phil Simmons

West Indies coach Phil Simmons feels that the absence of pacers like Stuart Broad and James Anderson in the England squad is not a big advantage for his team. Simmons feels that England still has a good bowling unit and West Indies have to face them.

England and West Indies are set to clash in a three-match Test series. The England squad is short of its two prime bowlers Stuart Broad and James Anderson, both of whom were rested for the series. Instead of these experienced pacers, bowlers like Matthew Fisher, Saqib Mahmood, Ollie Robinson, and Mark Wood have are part of the squad.

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Stuart Broad, James Anderson’s Absence Not A Big Advantage For Us: WI Coach Phil Simmons

While speaking to ESPN Cricinfo ahead of West Indies vs England 1st Test, West Indies coach Phil Simmons said that James Anderson and Stuart Broad’s absence will not be a big advantage for West Indies. Simmons said that England still has young players who want to make their name.

“You can call it an advantage but again, no Broad, no Anderson, we keep harping on that. But when you don’t have the experience, you have young fellas having to make their name and that is something that you have to guard against too.

“For me, you can’t be looking at that and saying well look, that’s a big advantage, because then you tend to get complacent and you tend to get found out early. So we have not been looking at the fact that there’s no Broad and Anderson, we’ve been looking at who there is, and there’s still some quality bowlers in there, which we still have to bat against,” Phil Simmons said.

Simmons also said that their top-order batsmen need to perform to give a tough challenge to England in the Test series.

“I think the last time England were here, and we beat them, the opening pair was Kraigg and John Campbell. So let’s hope that’s a good omen for us, because they are back together and they gave the team some good starts. So that’s what we’ve been talking about, getting a good start and then making sure that the top four put things together and not leave it for the middle and lower order,” Simmons further said.

West Indies vs England 1st Test commences on March 8 (Tuesday). The venue of the clash is Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in North Sound, Antigua. Two more Tests will be played during the series. Earlier, West Indies defeated England 3-2 in the 5-match T20I series.

England will be led by Joe Root while Kraigg Brathwaite is the captain of West Indies. Both the teams faced a defeat in their previous Test series. While England lost their previous Test series to Australia 4-0 during Ashes 2021-22, West Indies lost to Sri Lanka 2-0 in a two-match Test series in November last year.

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