England’s left-arm pacer Reece Topley has been ruled out of the ongoing ICC World Cup 2023 after fracturing his left index finger during his side’s encounter against South Africa in Mumbai on October 21.
In light of Topley’s unfortunate injury, England have named Durham fast bowler Brydon Carse as the 29-year-old’s replacement for the upcoming matches of the mega event.
Carse does not have massive international exposure as the 28-year-old has only featured in a total of 12 ODIs, taking 14 wickets in total.
His most notable performances came against Pakistan in 2021 where he took a five-wicket haul, followed by an impressive display against the Netherlands and then against New Zealand most recently.
"Brydon is a brilliant all-round package," batter Joe Root said on Monday.
"He scores some handy runs, is dynamic in the field and he's got a unique wicket-taking ability. He's got that Stokes element to him.
"He's a big personality and a great character to have around, so he's a good addition."
It is worth mentioning that Carse was one of the bowlers on standby in case of an injury during the World Cup but even his inclusion in the squad may not fix much as the defending champions have been struggling as a whole.
He is likely to fly to India on Tuesday, meaning he could participate in England’s match against Sri Lanka on October 26 in Bengaluru.
England have been underperforming massively in the World Cup, failing to win three of their four matches with their only victory coming against Bangladesh.
Problems have been increasing for Jos Buttler, if he wants his team to play in the mega event’s semi-final then his side would need, not just to win the remaining matches, but also by big margins because a 229-run defeat in their last match against South Africa put a considerable dent on their net run rate (NRR).
