Bazball’s very unlikely story BRYDON CARSE on how his playing ban helped his England profession

Even by Bazball’s standards, the rise of Brydon Carse is an unlikely tale. Less than three months ago he was nearing the end of a ban for gambling offences. Now, in New Zealand, he looks like the leader of England’s Test attack.

His growth as a person and a cricketer began during his time out of the game after the ECB discovered he had placed more than 300 bets on cricket matches between 2017 and 2019.

It was, he admitted, a ‘stupid mistake’ that left him, for the first time in his career, with a point to prove.

But the growth accelerated beyond recognition during England’s recent Test tour of Pakistan, where his nine wickets at 24 apiece made him the most dangerous seamer on either side. With better luck, and more support from his butter-fingered fielders, he might have bowled his team to a series win.

Above all, Carse – who had already impressed in patches during 19 ODIs and two T20 internationals extending back to 2021 – learned he has what it takes to succeed at the highest level, and the realisation has sharpened his focus.

England go into the Ashes next winter with a plan to attack Australia with pace, and Carse intends to be front and centre.

Brydon Carse (pictured) only made his Test debut last month but now looks set to be the leader of England’s bowling attack

Carse was the standout seam bowler on England’s tour of Pakistan as he took nine wickets

Carse has repaid Brendon McCullum’s faith after serving a gambling ban earlier this year

His debut last month in Multan was a furnace in more ways than one. Temperatures touched 40 degrees Celsius and, after Pakistan had won the toss and batted first on a featherbed, Carse did not get to put his feet up until after tea on the second day, with the score reading 556.

‘When we eventually bowled Pakistan out,’ he tells Mail Sport, ‘Ben Stokes put his arm round me and said, “I promise you, from a conditions point of view, it will not get harder than this”. The wicket was flat and it was brutal.

‘But going into that first Test, Brendon McCullum had full confidence in my ability. He said, “Just go out there and do what you do best. Don’t worry about how many runs you go for. Just create chances and try to take wickets”. It was very simple and that’s the way I enjoy playing my cricket – with clarity.

‘I wouldn’t say I surprised myself, but it gave me a lot of confidence. If I can do that in those conditions, then hopefully it’ll put me in a good place for the different situations I face.’

Carse troubled all the Pakistanis, not least Mohammad Rizwan, whose wicket he took three times.

But perhaps the enduring image is the roar of despair with which he greeted two drops in three balls off his bowling at a crucial moment of the second Test, allowing Salman Agha to play the game’s decisive innings.

‘No one means to drop catches,’ he says. ‘But two in three balls was probably not what I was expecting. In a twisted way, it gave me even more motivation to keep running in.’ It is an attitude that should serve him well when the going gets tough in Australia.

Carse wants to be part of a ‘massive year’ that also includes a five-Test series with India, and thinks he has the attributes – height, pace and bounce – to thrive on the pitches in Australia.

‘Definitely,’ he says. ‘They are renowned for having a bit more carry and I did a Lions trip at the end of 2019. It was my first time in Australia and we had a really successful tour. If I bowl to my ability out there, I can have an impact.’

Other bowlers might have vanished into the ether after being hit with a three-month ban that took Carse out of cricket for much of last summer.

But, turning 29, he used the breather as a reset – a mid-career break that allowed him to improve his game. He worked first on his fitness and then on his cricketing skills, with the help of Durham bowling coach Graham Onions.

‘I’ve sometimes been used as an impact bowler for short, sharp spells and I know I can do that role,’ he says. ‘But I said to Graham, “Let’s work on a couple of other things, too”.

Carse made his debut on a ‘flat and brutal’ pitch for bowlers, but never stopped searching for wickets

Ben Stokes (right) told Carse that conditions would not get any tougher in his career, and he has now set his sights on playing in next year’s Ashes in Australia

‘So I worked on my inswinger and on being consistent at holding a top-of-the-stumps length – the length that Jimmy Anderson bowled for so many years – because I’ve got the skill to do that as well.’

Carse was born in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, where his parents still live. His father, James, played for Northamptonshire in 1983 and it was his British passport that eased Brydon into England’s cricket pathways.

He spent the summer of 2014 playing for Burnmoor in the Durham Cricket League and was quickly embraced by the county setup. It became obvious that England, not South Africa, would be his cricketing home.

His time out of the game gave him a renewed sense of purpose and a feeling that he owed his club and adopted country.

‘It felt like, for the first time in my career, that I had a bit of a point to prove. This is what I want to do and this is the level I want to play at. I wanted to give back to Durham and the ECB for sticking by me. That was a big drive to try to perform.’

Success in New Zealand over the next three weeks should set him up well for a year that, not so long ago, looked out of reach.