5 things that were different in England cricket the last time James Anderson and Stuart Broad did not play a home Test together

England will host West Indies in the second Test of the series at Trent Bridge, Nottingham, from Thursday, July 18, 2024. The hosts will be playing a home Test without James Anderson and Stuart Broad for the first time in 12 long years.

The last time both Anderson and Broad were left out of a home Test together, was also coincidentally against the West Indies in the second Test at Nottingham in 2012.

England have come a long way ever since. However, it will be interesting to see how they go about an era without Anderson, who is now retired.

At present, the hosts enjoy a 1-0 lead after their emphatic win in the first game of the three-match series. The second Test will not feature both Anderson and Broad.

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5 things that were different in England cricket the last time James Anderson and Stuart Broad did not play a home Test together

#5 Andrew Strauss was still the Test captain

During the Test series against West Indies in 2012, English opener Andrew Strauss was still leading the side. In the second game of the series where Anderson and Broad both missed out together, Strauss led the hosts to a nine-wicket victory.

He also led them to a 2-0 series triumph with wins in the first two Tests while the third ended in a draw. Having played 100 Tests in his international career, Strauss has a record of 24 wins from 50 Tests as skipper.

Come 2024, with both the pacers missing out together, Ben Stokes is now in charge of the Test side.

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#4 Alastair Cook and Kevin Pietersen were still active cricketers

When it comes to English cricket, Alastair Cook and Kevin Pietersen are among the finest names to have played for them.

The last time Anderson and Broad did not play a home Test together back in 2012, Cook and Pietersen were still active cricketers.

In fact, Pietersen scored an impressive 80-run knock in the first innings of the game, while Cook remained unbeaten on 43 in the second innings to take them over the line comfortably.

Cook went on to play 161 Tests, amassing 12472 runs at an average of 45.35, slamming 33 hundreds. Pietersen, meanwhile, played 104 Tests, scoring 8181 runs at an average of 47.28 with 23 tons.

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#3 Joe Root hadn't debuted for England while Ben Stokes hadn't made his Test debut

One among the top batters of the current generation, Joe Root was yet to debut for the national team the last time James Anderson and Stuart Broad did not play a home Test together.

Root made his debut the same year though, on December 13, 2012, against India in the fourth Test at Nagpur. He has had a glorious career so far, featuring in 141 Tests, piling on 11804 runs at an average of 49.80 with 31 hundreds (stats after the England vs West Indies 2024 first Test).

Ben Stokes, the present Test captain, hadn't made his debut in the longest format either. Stokes played his first international Test match the following year in 2013 against Australia in the second Test at Adelaide.

He took over as the captain in 2022 after Root stepped down from the role.

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#2 England hadn't won the ICC Men's ODI World Cup

At the 2011 ICC Men's ODI World Cup, England suffered a defeat in the fourth quarter-final against Sri Lanka.

Thus, they hadn't even won a single edition of the Men's ODI World Cup back then. Come the 2015 edition, they failed to lift the title once again.

It was only in 2019, where they beat New Zealand in a dramatic and controversial final to win the Men's ODI World Cup for the first time, that too playing at home, in their long and rich cricketing history.

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#1 Graham Gooch was still their highest run-getter in Tests

Legendary batter Graham Alan Gooch, a prolific run-scorer back in his days, was still England's highest run-getter in Test cricket at the time.

Gooch was at the top with 8900 runs from 118 Test matches, averaging 42.58 to go with 20 centuries as well.

It was only later that Alastair Cook (12472 runs) and Joe Root (11804 runs) overtook Gooch as England's top two run-getters in Test cricket.