‘He’s a big personality’: Joe Root welcomes England emergency World Cup call-up
Emergency call-up Brydon Carse can give the England dressing room a timely lift as they attempt to rescue their Cricket World Cup defence, says batter Joe Root.
Durham seamer Carse has been drafted in to replace Reece Topley, who fractured the index finger on his left hand in Saturday’s 229-run thrashing by South Africa in Mumbai.
That defeat was England’s third from four matches and left their hopes of reaching the semi-finals hanging by a thread ahead of Thursday’s meeting with Sri Lanka.
“He’s a big personality and a great character to have around, so he’s a good addition,” Root said of Carse.
“Whenever someone comes in and they’re excited, and you can see it on their face straightaway, a smile is infectious. It can bring the best out of everyone and having that come into the group can’t be a bad thing.”
Root also compared Carse, 28, to one of the heroes of England’s 2019 World Cup victory, Liam Plunkett, whose bowling in the middle overs they have struggled to replace.
“Brydon is a brilliant all-round package. He scores some handy runs for you, is very dynamic in the field and he’s got a unique wicket-taking ability,” said Root.
“He’s got that Ben Stokes element to him where you sometimes feel like nothing is happening and then he’ll pick up wickets, almost in a ‘Junior Plunkett’ kind of way. He’s very similar.”
Carse, who has taken 14 wickets in 12 one-day internationals, may join the squad too late to feature against Sri Lanka in Bengaluru this week.
But he will be a useful option for captain Jos Buttler to call on for the remaining fixtures against hosts India, Australia, the Netherlands and Pakistan.