DOWNTON 'S EXIT . We were told by Mooresey [ coach Peter Moores ] that Paul had been let go between sessions in the practice game against Saint Kitts . I think Mooresey had only just found out himself . You see it when football clubs get taken over ; you tend to see different people brought in for key positions . Paul was a lovely guy and I feel sorry he ’ s lost his job but when you get new people in , changes always happen . There have been a few names bandied around and I think Straussy [ Andrew Strauss ] was considered last time the role came up a year ago , but he didn ’ t particularly fancy it . He ’ s certainly a very good man , but it ’ s hard to know who would be a good candidate until we know more about what the job role is . But Strauss , Michael Vaughan and Alec Stewart are all former England captains who would all bring their own experience and knowledge to the role . Stuart Broad admits he was sorry to see Paul Downton leave his role in the ECB . Downton ( centre ) was sacked as ECB managing director after a dismal World Cup this year . ALASTAIR COOK . He seems in a really happy place and excited to be back around the group . He ’ d be the last person to make too much of a fuss about a hundred in a warm-up game but I ’ d back him to score big runs in this series — he looks refreshed and ready to go . PLAYER POWER . It ’ s incredibly important that all the players feel they can contribute and speak up when they need to . That can be quite a scary thing but you only get better as a group when you do that . I did an Adidas event with Harlequins winger Ugo Monye and he was saying how player-led they were at the club . During the World Cup we didn ’ t talk enough as players and the guys weren ’ t speaking up as much as they needed to . We needed more edge and hopefully bringing guys like Cooky and Trotty [ Jonathan Trott ] back into the group will help that . Broad has backed Alastair Cook to score big runs during the series in the Caribbean . Captain Cook scored a century during a warm-up game against St Kitts & Nevis . RICHIE BENAUD . I used to watch videos of my dad playing in the 1986-87 Ashes series and I ’ ll always remember Richie ’ s commentary on that . He had this way of sounding as if he was reciting commentary when he was commentating and making it relaxing and peaceful to listen to . I don ’ t think there ’ ll be anyone in the cricket world who won ’ t be touched by his passing . His voice symbolised cricket and we ’ ll all miss him . JIMMY ANDERSON . He ’ s one of my best mates and we ’ ve played a lot of cricket together . He ’ s taught me a huge amount and guided me through my international career . I think we ’ re third behind Waqar [ Younis ] and Wasim [ Akram ] and Curtly [ Ambrose ] and Courtney [ Walsh ] as a pairing and that comes from us complementing each other ’ s styles and constant communication . It would a phenomenal achievement for him to become England ’ s leading wicket taker . Broad says that he and Jimmy Anderson are best mates and admits he has guided him through his career . Broad says it will be a great achievement for Jimmy Anderson to become England 's leading wicket taker . FITNESS . Twisting my ankle in the warm-up game was a bit of a scare , but it feels fine now . There was a burning feeling for a minute or so after it happened and I was pretty worried . It ’ s still bit stiff in the morning but fingers crossed it will be OK. ANTIGUA TRACK . They ’ re generally pretty flat out here now and I think fans can expect some fairly attritional cricket for the first few days before things speed up a bit . We ’ ve been practising our slip catching low down by our ankles because we ’ re not expecting a lot of carry . I think the team that wins the series will be the one that shows most patience and gets the best out of reverse swing . Broad twisted his ankle during the warm-up match but insists he feels fine now .
England start their three Test series against West Indies next Monday . ECB is backing captain Alastair Cook to score big runs in series . Bowler admits he is sorry to see Paul Downton leave role in Stuart Broad .