World Cup 2023: Brydon Carse announced as injured Reece Topley’s replacement

The injury of left-arm pacer Reece Topley has rubbed salt in the wounds of the defending champion Engaland's disappointing performance in the ongoing ICC Cricket World Cup 2023. The English side was left with no choice other than inexperienced pacer Brydon Carse for the remaining multinational event hosted in India.

Brydon Carse will replace Reece Topley in our World Cup squad for the remainder of the tournament.

Welcome, Carsey 🙌 #EnglandCricket | #CWC23 pic.twitter.com/DrDzkDbUeU

— England Cricket (@englandcricket) October 23, 2023

Topley fractures his left index finger

In the twentieth encounter of the World Cup, Topley fractured his left index finger against South Africa and has been ruled out for the remainder of the tournament. 

Although Jofra Archer has been traveling with the continent as a reserve player, the English side does not appear certain of his level of fitness restricting them from calling on his services. They have turned to Brydon and added the right-arm pacer to their 15-player squad.

Reece Topley likely to be ruled out of the 2023 World Cup.

He has suffered a stress fracture 5 times, inserted a 40mm titanium screw into back and now broke his finger. Feel for him - always given his best for England. pic.twitter.com/7pABGZ6Np7

— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) October 21, 2023

The top cricket governing body International Cricket Council (ICC) said in a statement, "The Event Technical Committee of the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2023 has approved Brydon Carse as a replacement for Reece Topley in the England squad. The replacement of a player requires the approval of the Event Technical Committee before the replacement player can be officially added to the squad".

England's star batsman Joe Root feels that the addition of Brydon Carse will bring different value to the current contingent. Talking to Sky Sports, Joe said, "He's a brilliant all-round package. He can score some handy runs for you, is very dynamic in the field, and has a unique wicket-taking ability. He's got that Stokes element to him where sometimes, you feel like nothing is happening and he'll pick up wickets," he said, according to Sky Sports. The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) confirmed that Recce Topley has been ruled out from the tournament on Sunday

The ECB said in a statement, "England and Surrey seamer Reece Topley has been ruled out of the rest of the ICC Men's World Cup after fracturing his left index finger during England's defeat to South Africa on Saturday". It is expected that Carse will make his maiden appearance in ICC's top event against Sri Lanka on Thursday. 

England squad: Jos Buttler (c), Moeen Ali, Gus Atkinson, Jonny Bairstow, Sam Curran, Liam Livingstone, Dawid Malan, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes, Brydon Carse, David Willey, Mark Wood, Chris Woakes.