Anderson unhappy as Finn and Onions vie for his place

Anderson’s exclusion had been expected after England had hinted at a desire to rotate their seamers amid a busy summer schedule.

With England’s No 1 Test status on the line in the three-Test series against South Africa from next month, and limited-overs series against the West Indies and Australia to come before then, Anderson has been put in cotton wool.

It is a scenario the 29-year-old right-armer admitted he would not be happy with before an otherwise unchanged 12-man squad was announced.

Anderson declared himself fully fit to play, undermining suggestions he had struggled with a quad strain during the series-clinching nine-wicket win at Trent Bridge last week, and claimed he had already had enough rest time between matches.

“It would be extremely disappointing for me to miss out,” he said. “It would be different if I felt fatigued or was struggling with an injury. But I believe I am fit to play – and while I am fit to play I want to play in every England game I can.”

Anderson has missed just one of England’s past 25 Tests since he was rested for the 2010 tour of Bangladesh but despite the Lancastrian’s apparent protests national selector Geoff Miller said his omission had been made in his “best interests”.

A depth in talent in the fast bowling stocks has ensured England will remain firm favourites to continue their winning ways and whitewash the West Indies at Edgbaston, with either Steven Finn or Graham Onions to step into the team.

Both understudies could yet be called into action, though, with England to decide on whether to also give Stuart Broad time off.

The 25-year-old arguably faces a more hectic schedule than Anderson this year as a fixture in all three formats, while he also has the added responsibility of captaining England’s Twenty20 team ahead of their title defence in Sri Lanka.

Should Broad be retained then Finn is the man most likely to be called up after he replaced an injured Anderson against Sri Lanka at Lord’s last summer.

That was one of just two Tests appearances for Finn since he was dropped during the last Ashes in Australia, as his blossoming career has been stalled by the form of those ahead of him.

In that time Yorkshire’s Tim Bresnan has usurped him, with a perfect record in his 13 Tests, as the preferred option behind Anderson and Broad.

England squad: AJ Strauss (capt, Middlesex), JM Bairstow (Yorkshire), IR Bell (Warwicks), TT Bresnan (Yorkshire), SCJ Broad (Notts), AN Cook (Essex), ST Finn (Middlesex), G Onions (Durham), KP Pietersen (Surrey), MJ Prior (wkt, Sussex), GP Swann (Notts), IJL Trott (Warwicks).