Ben Stokes has praised Brydon Carse as England’s triple threat after he starred against New Zealand, branding Durham’s fast “three bowlers in one”.
Carse produced a superb effort in the first Test in Christchurch, taking combined figures of 10 for 106 to give his side an eight-wicket victory.
He took four in New Zealand’s first innings and six in the second to leave England bowled out for just 104 for the win, while debutant Jacob Bethell provided a feel-good factor by smashing an unbeaten fifty.
It was a statement from the 29-year-old Carse, making only his third appearance at this level, terrorizing the New Zealanders with bouncers and attacking the stumps with full balls, maintaining a woeful economy rate of 2.76.
Ben Stokes
Stokes, who designated his county teammate as one to watch during his early days at Chester-le-Street, said: It had an impact when he eventually reached the highest level.
“To have a striker in the attack who can be almost three bowlers at once is huge. I use him as an enforcer when I play short pitches, but even this week he took a lot of wickets and his economy rate was under 3.”
He continued, “He has the heart of a lion. It’s very clear that whenever you throw the ball to him, he’s going to give 100% every time. He would keep bowling even if he tore his toe. He will continue on and on without showing any pain.
“He has become the cricketer I always thought he could be. He has worked incredibly hard to get to this point and I think he will be playing for England for a long time.”
Bryden Cass
Carse earned rave reviews in the first series against Pakistan in October, ruffling feathers despite playing on a pitch that offers nothing to the fast players and looks to have already been enlisted in the first-choice XI.
But his career hit an unexpected setback last summer when he was banned for three months for a historic betting offence. He did a great job, coming back even better than before.
Stokes suffered numerous off-field disruptions, including missing the 2017/18 Ashes due to an incident in Bristol, and has been a pillar of strength for his team-mates.
“Ben was one of the first people I spoke to after the ban. He has been there in person and by phone for the past four or five months and I cannot thank him enough,” Carse said.
“I have had bad luck with certain things. But no matter what has happened over the past few years, we are here now and looking ahead.
“You dream of a day like this. I don’t want to say I knew this day would come, but the idea of being able to play cricket at this level was always ambitious. “I’m very proud of today’s performance.”
recovery
Stokes added: “I talked to him a lot and spent a lot of time with him during the ban. When that kind of thing comes from someone who knows what it’s like to go through certain things, it makes a little more sense.
“If you think about where he was four, five, six months ago, it’s a testament to his character that he’s where he is now. To go through something like that and then walk away here with 10 wickets in a Test match is not easy.”
Stokes allayed injury concerns after being forced off midway through the final morning of the series opener with a sore back. He has missed four of the last seven Tests with a torn hamstring and underwent major knee surgery last year.
“I twisted my back to dive on the first day and there was some stiffness,” he said.
Read more: Brydon Carse leads England to 8-wicket victory
