Brydon Carse, the English fast bowler, has expressed his gratitude to the England management for their unwavering support following his return to international cricket after a three-month gambling ban. Carse’s suspension, which included 13 months suspended, stemmed from placing over 300 bets on matches between 2017 and 2019.
Despite the breach of regulations, there were no indications or accusations of match-fixing. Carse’s recall to the England setup is a testament to the belief that the management has in the 29-year-old.
“They’ve been incredibly supportive over the last period of time,” Carse said. “It’s been brilliant [to be back playing]. The last three weeks have been very pleasing for me to be back playing.”
Carse’s return to the England setup has been met with full backing and support from everyone involved. He has been awarded a maiden Test call-up for the tour of Pakistan, along with his presence in both white-ball squads.
“Rob Key’s been very communicative with me and everyone around the support structure has given me everything that I’ve needed to, to get back playing,” Carse added.
The current England regime believes that Carse possesses the attributes necessary for success at the international level. His ability to bowl with extra pace makes him a valuable asset in the Test format.
“I’m making sure I bowl enough overs in training to keep my loads up,” Carse said of his preparations for the upcoming Test tour. “But the way the schedule is now, I’m fully focused on white-ball and the adjustments will be done in Pakistan when I land on October 2.”
Carse’s role in the England team has been compared to that of Liam Plunkett, a former Durham predecessor and white-ball middle-overs specialist. However, Carse insists that he is not focused on comparisons.
“The only time I hear about that role is in the media,” Carse said. “I’m not getting told that by the coaches or fellow team-mates. It’s not something I’ve really thought about.”
Carse has yet to take the new ball for England, but he has consistently bowled as first change. Despite the changes in captaincy, the message to Carse of what is required from him has remained consistent.
“I’m not going to rule out bowling in the powerplay,” he said. “I’ve had a couple of good spells in the powerplay in these 50-over games so far. And if I can come back [later in the innings] and take wickets for the team – you know, [Saturday] I was probably a little bit expensive to what I would’ve liked – but ultimately I’m going to try and take wickets because that’s my role.”
Carse’s performance against Australia at Headingley was a mixed bag. He claimed three wickets but was also expensive, conceding 75 runs from his ten overs. However, he believes that there are positives to take from the outcome.
“I probably struggled with a little bit of rhythm in my first spell. But coming back and picking up those two crucial wickets to stem the flow of the game at the time. I just kept trucking in and ultimately I think it’s a day where I can take a few positives from the outcome, some good, some not so good.”
Carse acknowledges that the lack of 50-over cricket experience among some players in the England group has been a factor in their recent performances. However, he believes that the team has the potential to turn things around quickly.
“There’s no hiding the fact that a lot of the players in that group don’t play a lot of 50-over cricket and that’s just the structure around English cricket now with the Hundred,” Carse said. “But I think there’s players in that group that have had very good T20 careers up to date and there’s some up-and-coming players where it’s just about adapting to the certain situations quicker. I think that’s probably what we haven’t done in these first two games, adapting to situations. But there’s three games now to really try and turn that around quickly.”
