Image Credit- AFP
After selecting Brydon Carse to replace the injured
Reece Topley in their World Cup team, England is hoping he can duplicate Liam
Plunkett’s success in the middle overs.
Carse will go to Bangalore ahead of England’s match
against Sri Lanka on Thursday, but given that his last competitive game was
four weeks ago, he is unlikely to be selected. Following his success in the
T20I series, he played for England’s reserve team against Ireland and in one of
their four ODI matches last month against New Zealand.
Carse, 28, a cricket player for Durham and the
Northern Superchargers in the domestic game, was born in South Africa but holds
a UK passport. He is a tall, muscular seamer who can also contribute with the
bat from the lower order. Since making his debut in 2021, he has won 12 ODI
caps and three T20I caps.
“He’s a brilliant all-round package,” Joe
Root said on Monday. “He can score some handy runs for you, is very
dynamic in the field and has a unique wicket-taking ability. He’s got that
[Ben] Stokes element to him where sometimes, you feel like nothing is happening
and he’ll pick up wickets.”
England had swiftly and unceremoniously moved on from
Plunkett after the last World Cup, when he was 34, and Carse is the closest
like-for-like replacement that they have used in the four years since. “He
almost feels like a junior Plunkett,” Root said. “He’s very similar.
Pudsy [Plunkett] might not like me saying this, but he’s probably got even more
to offer with the bat as well.”