Brydon Carse ruled out of Champions Trophy

England fast bowler Brydon Carse has been ruled out of the rest of the Champions Trophy and has been replaced by leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed. 

Carse, who plays for Durham domestically, has been suffering with blisters on his left foot and required stitches during his side’s recent one-day series in India. The 29-year-old played in the first game of that series but missed the final two games as England lost the series 3-0.  

South African born Carse featured in England’s five wicket defeat to Australia on Saturday but struggled and returned figures of 1-69 from seven overs. 

Ahmed will not arrive in Pakistan to join the rest of the England squad until Wednesday, the day of his side’s game against Afghanistan, meaning he won’t be available for the fixture. This leaves Jamie Overton as the most likely replacement for Carse in the squad. However, England also have Gus Atkinson and Saqib Mahmood as fast bowling options.  

Ahmed’s addition to the squad gives England another front-line spin option, alongside Adil Rashid, for Saturday’s game against South Africa. In his six ODI matches Ahmed has taken 10 wickets as well as claiming 22 wickets in five test matches. 

After losing their opening game England will have to win both their remaining games to qualify for the semi-finals of the competition.