'The decision has hit me pretty hard,' Stuart Broad on exclusion from West Indies Tests

England fast bowler Stuart Broad says that the decision taken by his cricketing board not to pick him for the Test series against West Indies has hit him hard.

Two of England's top wicket-takers James Anderson and Stuart Broad have not been selected for England's upcoming Test series against West Indies, leaving many surprised. "The decision has hit me pretty hard," Broad said in his column for the Daily Mail.

A disappointing 4-0 Ashes drubbing at the hands of Australia recently has led to the departure of ECB CEO Ashley Giles, head coach Chris Silverwood and batting coach Graham Thorpe. 

Andrew Strauss has taken over from Giles, while Paul Collingwood has been appointed interim head coach for the tour. Strauss while announcing the team had said this does not mean the end of Anderson and Broad's international careers.

"I hopped on the Tube in London the following day and people were asking 'What on earth is going on?' I couldn't explain it. How do you?," Broad wrote.

"Right now, I feel gutted," said Broad. 

"Do I need to prove myself again? In my mind, I've nothing to prove.

"I am a proven performer, so it is now about the English cricketing summer and mentally and physically targeting the home series against New Zealand in June."

England arrive in Antigua on February 25 and play a four-day warm-up match on March 1, ahead of the first Test at the Sir Vivian Richards Cricket Ground on March 8.