Brydon Carse has been left out of England’s white-ball squads to face Sri Lanka at the end of the season and told to “work through the issues” that led to him being handcuffed by police outside a bar in Derby last month.
Carse, 31, is being investigated by the Cricket Regulator regarding the late night incident in August that prompted his removal from England’s plans for the ongoing Test series against Pakistan. Derbyshire police are also looking into an alleged assault that night, albeit Carse’s involvement is not currently known.
In the meantime, Carse is technically available for England selection but has been left out of the Twenty20s and one-day internationals against Sri Lanka that start in Southampton on 15 September. Henry Crocombe, the uncapped seamer who has claimed back-to-back hat-tricks for Sussex in the past week, has taken Carse’s place in the ODI squad.
An England spokesperson said: “Given recent events, we feel it is important for [Carse] to work through the issues that led to the Derby incident and take time for a proper reset. This decision does not prejudge the outcome of any investigation.”
Though a close friend of the white-ball captain, Harry Brook, and centrally contracted, it would appear Carse has fallen foul of the England management at large as they attempt to change the image and culture of the men’s national teams. Joe Root, the Test captain, had previously asked his players to be “role models”.
Jacob Bethell will also miss the white-ball fixtures against Sri Lanka after recently undergoing surgery on the knee problem that has kept him out since mid-July. Bethell is not expected to be fit until the limited overs tour of Australia in November, with Derbyshire’s Aneurin Donald now earning a maiden T20 call up.
If selected, Donald would become the first Glamorgan product to play for England since Simon Jones during the 2005 Ashes, even if he has moved counties since. The 29-year-old struck 489 runs in this year’s T20 Blast at a remarkable strike-rate of 230 and went on to shine in the Hundred for the runners-up, Trent Rockets.
There is a third Test against Pakistan to complete first, however, with the tourists having now begun life under their new interim head coach, Mike Hesson. Sarfaraz Ahmed was stood down from the role after going 2-0 down at Lord’s last Sunday, while seven members of Pakistan’s touring party were also dropped.
As Pakistan’s white-ball coach, Hesson had only flown to the UK to attend the Pakistan Cricket Board’s official reception with King Charles at Clarence House on Wednesday. “It’s been pretty challenging,” said the New Zealander. “I was heading over to see the King and be part of a nice occasion. That got expedited.”
After holding one-on-one talks with the remaining squad members this week, and then drilling them at Edgbaston’s indoor school due to rain, Hesson believes a fresh start has occurred. Of the seven players being flown in, three were still due to arrive in the UK on Friday.
As for the departed, Hesson tried his best to explain.
In essence, three of the seven dropped – Imam-ul-Haq, Mohammed Rizwan and Salman Ali Agha – were told their tour was over immediately after the defeat at Lord’s. Hesson claims he was not privy to this decision by the high performance director, Aaqib Javed, nor was he able to share the precise reasons why.
But once asked to take over as Test coach, for Hesson it was then a case of assessing the team’s remaining shortcomings and the blend needed in Birmingham, resulting in four further members of the tour party being swapped out. Ali Usman, for example, was sent home as a spinner is unlikely to be needed.
Hesson said: “I don’t think anyone wants this to happen in the middle of a series, clearly not. From my perspective, it’s about putting a balanced squad together so we actually have some variety in our attack. Pakistan is known for pace, unusual actions, mystery spin – we haven’t really been able to present any of that.
“There’s been talk about having an identity as a Test team, and that does come from stability. But it also comes from being authentic to the way your team plays. We have to get back to that.”
Hesson did not commit to the Pakistan Test role beyond next week’s Third Test and, despite hitting out at what he claims were some erroneous news reports this past week, has looked to inject some calm into proceedings overall. “The guys are probably more used to a little bit of chaos than I am,” he said.
