The England Cricket Board (ECB) has announced the replacement for Reece Topley, whose broken index finger ruled him out of the remaining matches of the 2023 World Cup. 28-year-old fast-bowling all-rounder Brydon Carse has been roped in to replace the left-arm seamer. Topley is likely to return home on Monday and will work closely with England and Surrey's medical team to recover as quickly as possible.
Topley suffered the injury during England's 229-run drubbing against South Africa at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. He went off the field before returning to complete his quota and finished with figures of 9.5-0-88-3. Head coach Matthew Mott had already hinted at Topley missing out on the remaining matches of the campaign.
Carse, meanwhile, has represented England in 12 ODIs so far, picking up 14 wickets, including a fifer against Pakistan in Birmingham two years ago. As a 28-year-old, he could be England's attack leader four years from now and exposing him to a stage as big as the World Cup could do no harm.
Joe Root satisfied with the inclusion of Brydon Carse:
England's No.3 Joe Root labelled Carse as the 'all-round package' and drew comparisons of him to Ben Stokes. As quoted by ESPN Cricinfo, he stated:
"He's a brilliant all-round package. He can score some handy runs for you, is very dynamic in the field and has a unique wicket-taking ability. He's got that [Ben] Stokes element to him where sometimes, you feel like nothing is happening and he'll pick up wickets."
England will next lock horns with Sri Lanka on October 26th in Bengaluru.
