STUART BROAD: I'm waking up angrier each day after shock England axe

I have to confess that I wasn't expecting the phone call I received from Andrew Strauss on Tuesday that started with him saying: 'I've got some bad news.' That's not what you really want to hear on selection matters, and not something I have heard very often during my career of 152 Test caps.

I always try to find a positive in the hand that has been dealt to me. 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 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.

I care deeply about playing for England, and first and foremost I am an England fan. Defeats hurt me just as much now, as a 35-year-old player, as they did when I was a kid of 12.

The thing I want most is for the team to be successful and it has been my belief through these challenging past few months that I can play an integral part in getting us back to where we once were in Test cricket.

From a personal perspective, the only positive I can cling to is that my form — and you could add Jimmy Anderson's recent performances to this too — has been good.

I took 11 wickets in the final two Ashes matches, I have been Test match standard for a long time and, for the last eight years, you would say world class.

And so, it makes it even more upsetting that they don't see me part of their immediate plans, especially with a view to looking at a way of winning away from home, which was briefly explained to me.

So, how do I assess that? Well, the decision has been made by a