England Excludes Carse Again Ahead of Edgbaston Test Against Pakistan

England will go into the final Test against Pakistan without Brydon Carse, as the Durham seamer remains under police investigation following an incident outside a Derby nightclub last month.

Carse, 31, was omitted for the second Test at Lord’s after being briefly arrested on 22 August. Derbyshire police have confirmed he is under investigation over allegations of assault. He has not been recalled for the third Test at Edgbaston, starting on Wednesday, 9 September.

Sonny Baker, the 23-year-old quick who came in for Carse at Lord’s, keeps his place in a 15-man squad that is otherwise largely settled. Surrey seamer Matthew Fisher is the only player to drop out as England eye a clean sweep over a Pakistan side in disarray.

England juggle red-ball push with looming white-ball load

The Test at Edgbaston sits awkwardly in a crowded calendar. Six white-ball matches against Sri Lanka follow quickly, and the strain on England’s seamers is beginning to show.

Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson and Josh Tongue are all named in the Test squad and are also central to England’s limited-overs plans. Management may yet choose to rotate that trio, with Baker, Essex seamer Sam Cook and Derbyshire spinner Shoaib Bashir waiting in the wings.

Cook, 29, has just a single Test cap, earned against Zimbabwe last summer, but has built a formidable reputation on the county circuit. Bashir, 22, is still uncapped in this series, watching on so far as England have doubled down on an all-pace attack.

Baker’s only Test appearance to date came in a heavily rotated side against New Zealand at The Oval in June. Edgbaston could offer him another chance if England decide to protect their frontline quicks ahead of the Sri Lanka series.

Carse stuck in limbo

While England move on without him, Carse’s situation remains delicately poised. He is available for Durham selection and returned match figures of 4-95 in their win over Gloucestershire last week, a reminder of his value with the ball.

Even so, he has not been named in Durham’s XI for their current match against Northamptonshire, which began on Wednesday. For now, his international ambitions are on hold, shaped as much by events off the field as on it.

Pakistan rip it up before Edgbaston

If England’s adjustments feel measured, Pakistan’s response to their series struggles borders on radical.

Ahead of the Edgbaston Test, Pakistan have dropped seven players, summoned five uncapped names and parted company with their head coach. Sarfaraz Ahmed has been replaced by Pakistan white-ball coach Mike Hesson, a dramatic reshuffle on the eve of a high-pressure match.

Muhammad Rizwan, Imam-ul-Haq, Salman Ali Agha, Ali Usman and Khurram Shahzad – all involved earlier in the series – are among those axed as the tourists search for a spark.

England, chasing a series clean sweep, face a team that has torn up its script. The hosts must now decide how hard to push their own fast bowlers in Birmingham, knowing the next block of cricket is already rushing towards them.