Brydon Carse: South African-Born English Fast Bowler

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Brydon Carse, a fast bowler with a rapid arm action, earned England recognition through a resilient journey with Durham, marked by injury setbacks. His breakthrough came in 2021 when England's entire squad was replaced due to COVID-19 for the Pakistan ODI series. Carse seized the opportunity, impressing with his ability to hit the deck hard and claiming a five-wicket haul in the third match.

The South Africa-born pace bowler, who honed his skills in northeast England, had already caught attention with a stellar 2019 season. He topped Durham's wicket-taking charts in the Royal London Cup and secured 35 Championship wickets at 26.85, overcoming two injury-plagued seasons.

Carse's progress earned him a spot on the England Lions tour to Australia, where he took eight wickets in four unbeaten matches, including a maiden first-class victory over Australia A at the MCG.

Having made his first-class debut for Durham in 2016, Carse demonstrated early promise with 17 wickets in eight games. Initially, he played as an overseas professional and part-time seam bowler for Burnmoor in the Durham League in 2014.

With a UK passport and completed residency qualification in 2019, Carse, son of former Northamptonshire county cricketer James Carse, solidified his place in England's ranks. A T20I debut followed in 2022, and he eventually joined the ODI World Cup squad in India as an injury replacement for Reece Topley.

 

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England’s Brydon Carse pleased by ‘full backing’ on return from cricket ban​

Brydon Carse has expressed his thanks to the “incredibly supportive” England setup after his rapid reintegration following his ban, and hopes to repay the faith shown in him, first in the remaining one-day internationals against Australia and then in the Test series in Pakistan that follows immediately.

Carse had a mixed day at Headingley on Saturday as England made it two defeats from two in their ODI series. He dismissed Travis Head and truncated Australia’s innings with two wickets in two balls, yet was spatchcocked for 75 runs. However, for Carse the only way is up.

At the end of May, he was banned for three months for a historical breach of betting rules – a 16-month sentence, 13 of them suspended for two years. He returned at the end of August, played a couple of games for Durham and was immediately called up by England for both the white-ball squads to face Australia and the Test series against Pakistan.

Carse is grateful for the opportunity he has been given. “The last three weeks have been very pleasing for me. All I’ve had from everyone is full backing and full support and I’m just looking forward to playing as much cricket in an England shirt as possible going forward.”

That includes the potential of a first Test cap during England’s three-Test tour of Pakistan. “I’m very excited to be going to Pakistan,” he said. “That’s a group of players that I have wanted to be involved with for a number of years now with a few setbacks here and there.”

Carse, alongside Gus Atkinson, Olly Stone and the 20-year old, 6ft 7in Josh Hull, will make up a formidable speed quartet, full of potential if lacking experience, alongside the steadier Chris Woakes, Matthew Potts and Ben Stokes. “I watched the last series in Pakistan … the mantra that they [England] are trying to play their Test cricket is probably shifting and trying to play a couple of bowlers that can bowl with extra pace. My role is going to be short, sharp bursts, trying to bowl quickly and get the ball to reverse.

“If these guys can all stay fit and perform, there’s a really good crop of fast bowlers that England can pick from.”

There will not be much time to adjust between the end of the ODI series at Bristol next Sunday and landing in Pakistan three days later. “I’m making sure I bowl enough overs in training to keep my loads up,” Carse said. “But the way the schedule is now I’m fully focused on white ball and [with] all of these different formats happening at the same time, the adjustment that you’ve got to do from a white ball to a red ball will be done in Pakistan when I land on 2 October.”

Before that, three more ODIs, with this inexperienced England side on a huge learning curve against the world champions. “There’s no hiding the fact that a lot of the players in that group don’t play a lot of 50-over cricket. It’s just about adapting to certain situations quicker.” The next test comes around quickly, in Durham on Tuesday, weather permitting. On Sunday no play was possible in the One-Day Cup final between Somerset and Glamorgan at Trent Bridge and the forecast for Monday’s reserve day is also grim.

England’s Brydon Carse pleased by ‘full backing’ on return from cricket ban

Brydon Carse was back in the wickets for England against Australia on Saturday and is excited by his selection for the Test series in Pakistan

www.theguardian.com