England bowler Stuart Broad has admitted that he would have liked to have seen Jimmy Anderson selected in the squad for the first Test against Pakistan.
England's leading wicket-taker was surprisingly left out of the 12-man squad for the opener at Lord's having struggled with a shoulder injury recently.
Broad acknowledged that the selectors had taken the "sensible" option in not risking losing Anderson for the entire four-match series, but still believes that the 33-year-old could have played a part.
"Personally, I would have liked Jimmy in the 13 so you have got him around the bowlers, pushing his fitness to maybe play on Thursday," he told reporters.
"I saw him all week, and he seemed okay ... he was pretty certain that he would be in the squad ... he will be disappointed. I'm sure there was a huge temptation to have him in a 13-man to let Jake [Ball] and Toby [Roland-Jones] learn from him leading in.
"I think he has been told 'you have got to play some cricket'. The sensible thing is you (don't) risk him for the first one, and blow him out of four. Get him right for Old Trafford, his home ground, but we know how important a first Test of a series is."
England get the first Test underway against Pakistan on Thursday.
Barney Corkhill
