Brydon Carse omitted from England's final Test squad amid ongoing assault investigation

Brydon Carse has been left out of England’s squad for the final Test of the summer, against Pakistan at Edgbaston next week, with police still investigating allegations of an assault connected with the late-night incident at a Derby bar last month that led to the Durham seamer being briefly arrested and placed in handcuffs. The Cricket Regulator is also investigating the incident.

As a result of the allegations, and with investigations ongoing, Carse was dropped from the squad for last week’s second Test. The 31-year-old had been in the squad for the first game, but not named in the XI. Sonny Baker, who replaced him for the second Test but also did not play, remains in a squad that has changed only by the absence of Matthew Fisher. Alongside Baker, the other squad members who were not in the team at Lord’s are Shoaib Bashir, Sam Cook and Ollie Pope.

After England sealed the series win with victory at Lord’s Marcus Trescothick, the interim coach, promised that “we’re not going to ease off the gas” and spoke of the benefit the side’s current first-choice seamers – Jofra Archer, Ollie Robinson, Josh Tongue and Gus Atkinson – would get from regularly playing together. “The more experience everyone gets together, then it sort of fits into place how you want it to be.”

But if England are likely to be unchanged the same is not true of their opponents, who announced on Monday that they had sacked Sarfaraz Ahmed, their head coach, and were immediately dropping seven players, of whom five had played in at least one of the first two Tests. Given they had 18 players in their original squad it is theoretically possible for them to not pick any of their seven replacements, of whom five are currently uncapped, though the outgoing players include two of their four bowlers and both recognised all-rounders.

Should the final Test go to five days England will then have less than 48 hours to prepare for a white-ball series against Sri Lanka starting on 15 September in Southampton. Sri Lanka announced their squad for both T20 and ODI series on Wednesday, with Charith Asalanka – who replaced Kusal Mendis as captain in 2024 but was himself replaced when Mendis returned to the role earlier this year, as well as being dropped from the T20 squad – back as vice-captain in both formats.

Asalanka’s return is reward for his form in this year’s Lanka Premier League, the country’s domestic T20 competition, in which he scored 385 runs in the tournament and was named player of the match in last month’s final. Lahiru Udara, the top-scorer in the LPL with 434 runs, is recalled three years after his one previous appearance. England are expected to announce their squad for the series later this week.