England cricketer Brydon Carse has revealed that Ben Stokes helped support him after he admitted to betting offences which resulted in a three-month ban.
Carse, 29, was slapped with the suspension in May for betting on cricket matches which he wasn’t involved in. Last month – two days before his ban elapsed – the South African-born fast bowler was named in England’s white-ball squads for the Twenty20 and ODI series’ against Australia. He has now also been named in the Test squad for England’s tour of Pakistan.
In his first game back for County Championship side Durham, who Stokes also plays for, Carse took three wickets and scored 104 not out. Stokes was among the team-mates who Carse confessed to earlier this year and he’s now trying to follow the advice which the England red-ball captain gave him.
“Ben Stokes was one of the first people that I told,” Carse revealed to the Telegraph, speaking for the first time since his suspension ended. “He said learn from it, be truthful and honest. Go through the process, and things will get better over time.”
Carsen is the son of Zimbabwean cricketer James Alexandar Carse, who played in England for Northamptonshire. The 29-year-old had been tipped to make his England Test debut before receiving a call from the cricket regulator, who’d uncovered bets that he’d placed on more than 300 matches between 2017 and 2019. Most of them were in-game bets of small amounts of money.
Carse wasn’t accused of fixing any matches and insists that he doesn’t have a gambling addiction. Having already earned 14 one-day appearances for England, he hopes that his time away from cricket will fuel a strong return.
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“It’s definitely given me, I don’t want to say, a new lease of life, but, there’s a lot more fire within me and points that I want to prove to myself and to other people. I’m really looking forward to getting stuck in,” Carse explained.
“I fully accept my actions and the punishment that was given to me, but it’s something that I want to put behind me and just continue looking forward to putting good performances in on the cricket field and playing as much as I can in an England shirt.”
He added: “This next month will be a big month for me personally. I’ve got a bit of a point to prove to myself and hopefully I can put in a couple of good performances. Playing now almost feels like a clean slate, and I’ve got no burden hanging over me.”
England play their first T20 against Australia in Southampton on Wednesday before matches in Cardiff (Friday) and Manchester (Sunday). They then play five ODIs, ending on September 29, and the Test team will start in Pakistan on October 7.
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