Brydon Carse once again stepped down as England asked him to deal with off-field issues

Brydon Carse has been left out of England’s white-ball squad for the upcoming series against Sri Lanka and has been told to “sort out the issues” surrounding the off-field incident at Derby last month.

A 31-year-old man was handcuffed by police outside a bar in Derby in August and is currently under investigation by the cricket regulator. Derbyshire Police are also investigating an alleged assault linked to the incident, although Carse’s involvement has not been proven.

Carse’s omission comes after he was removed from England’s plans for the ongoing Test series against Pakistan following the incident. Although he remains technically available for selection, England have decided not to pick him for the three T20Is and three ODIs against Sri Lanka, starting in Southampton on September 15.

Henry Crocombe replaced Carse in the ODI squad. The uncapped Sussex seamer has grabbed the headlines over the past week by claiming back-to-back hat-tricks.

An England spokesman said a decision had been taken to give Carse time to deal with the circumstances of the incident.

“Given recent events, we feel it is important that (Carse) moves past the issues that led to the Derby incident and takes time to properly reset,” the spokesman said. “This decision does not prejudge the outcome of any investigation.”

Carse, who has a central contract with England and is a close friend of white-ball captain Harry Brook, appears to have fallen out of favor with England’s wider management as the team seeks to strengthen standards of behavior and culture.

Test captain Joe Root has previously urged England players to act as “role models”.

Carse is not the only player missing from England’s white-ball plans. Jacob Bethell will also feature in the Sri Lanka matches after undergoing knee surgery which has kept him sidelined since mid-July.

Bethell is not expected to return until England’s tour of Australia in November. His absence opened the door for Derbyshire batsman Aneurin Donald to get his first T20 call-up.

Donald enjoyed a prolific T20 Blast campaign, scoring 489 runs at 230 before continuing his impressive form for Trent Rockets in the Hundred.

Should he make his England debut, Donald would become the first Glamorgan product to represent England since Simon Jones during the 2005 Ashes, despite subsequent county moves.

England have to finish the ongoing Test series against Pakistan first and the third match is yet to come.

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Issued by:

Saurabh Kumar

Published on:

05 Sep 2026 12:30 IST