Cricket
England leave Brydon Carse out of their squad for third Test against Pakistan
England have left Brydon Carse out of their squad for the third Test against Pakistan, with Sonny Baker retained as his replacement.
Carse was removed ahead of last week’s series-clinching win at Lord’s having been involved in a late night incident outside a Derby nightclub over the previous weekend.
The 31-year-old, who was seen in a video clip in handcuffs, was arrested then de-arrested by police officers at the scene after agreeing to leave.
Derbyshire Police is currently investigating allegations of an assault, while the independent Cricket Regulator is also looking into Carse’s conduct.
The seam bowler was England’s leading wicket-taker during last winter’s Ashes defeat and would have been in contention to make his first international appearance of the summer in ordinary circumstances.
He played in Durham’s win over Gloucestershire after being stood down by England but was left out of this week’s game against Northamptonshire, which started on Wednesday, due to ‘pre-arranged workload management’ agreed with the England and Wales Cricket Board.
Speaking at Lord’s last week, England captain Joe Root described himself as “hacked off” by the growing number of alcohol-rated stories around the team, adding: “I’ve spoken to Brydon and when I first found out my first concern was him as a person.
“I don’t think I’m speaking out of turn in saying he’s very upset, very apologetic and understands his actions. I’m sure when he gets his chance, he will say that himself.”
Baker, meanwhile, gets another chance to impress in Carse’s absence after being included in a 15-strong squad ahead of Surrey’s Matthew Fisher. Fisher was called up and unused for the first two Tests, while Baker was a late addition for the second match following Carse’s exit.
The 23-year-old made his Test debut against New Zealand at the Kia Oval in June as part of a much-changed XI. Former captain Ben Stokes and seamer Gus Atkinson were dropped for that match after another late night drama in London.
The third Test begins next Wednesday, with England heavy favourites to complete a series sweep over tourists who have slipped into meltdown in recent days. In remarkable scenes, the Pakistan Cricket Board sent seven players home, called up a raft of replacements and replaced red-ball head coach Sarfaraz Ahmed with his white-ball counterpart Mike Hesson.
England’s interim head coach Marcus Trescothick has indicated a preference to field his strongest possible side in pursuit of a 3-0 scoreline, rather than ring the changes.
That means the likes of Baker and Sam Cook may be kept on the sidelines unless it is decided that any of the in-form pace attack of Jofra Archer, Ollie Robinson, Josh Tongue and Atkinson need to be rested.
