Brydon Carse is on the path to follow Mark Wood and Ben Stokes, according to Durham Cricket coach Neil Killeen.
Killeen has been working with Carse along with Wood and Stokes at the Emirates Riverside in one of England’s training camps across the country to prepare for the relaunch of international cricket.
The Durham paceman was selected in the Lions squad during the winter for their tour of Australia, and was named in a 55-man pool of England players to be allowed to return to training following the ease of coronavirus restrictions.
Killeen is bullish over the potential of the 24-year-old and believes that with further fine tuning over the next two years that he will be more than capable of following in the footsteps of his Durham team-mates to represent the Three Lions.
“Brydon’s got to kick on and learn,” he said. “He went away with the Lions in the winter and he could even play a part in the three one-day internationals if things go well for him.
“There’s always room for improvement and he’s not the perfect specimen with his action yet.
“He’s got a lot of really good attributes and is in great shape at the moment. There are still things that we’re working on regarding his action. I think through time and development this season and the winter – I’m certain that in two years’ time that Brydon could be the next Mark Wood or Ben Stokes or even Jofra Archer.
“It has been great for him to see how Mark and Ben operate on a daily basis and pick their brains to see how they go about their business – from a bowling and batting perspective.
“Brydon hasn’t played a lot of cricket therefore he is still developing. Being around Mark and Ben and watching their approach and skill set will only improve his bowling.”
Stokes and Wood have also been afforded time to refine their skills due to the extra time away from the international scene. Both men have been essential in cogs in England’s side in all three formats, limiting their time to work on different aspects of their game outside of the pressurised playing environment.
Killeen has lauded their work rate during the five-week period since their training regime began and is confident that the duo will hit the ground running when England begin their international calendar against the West Indies in July.
He added: “This phase has been great for both of them because during the international calendar you do not have a great deal of time to press the reset button. So we’ve been able to look back and go over technical issues.
“Over the last five weeks we’ve had a chance to reset a few things and work on their skills. Both Ben and Mark have been working on new types of deliveries, which we’ve had time to refine. It has been really helpful for the both of them and they’ve been accepting to the work. I’ve been in a privileged position – I’ve known them for all of my career, having played with them and now coaching them. It has helped build that element of trust.
“Their work rate has been outstanding. Coming out of lockdown when people have been left to their own devices to see the shape that both of them came back into training with was phenomenal. They’re both proper athletes they have not let anything slide. It’s why they’re up to speed and ready to go. Both of them are at the point now if there was a match next week they could play at a high level.”
Stokes and Wood have both been named in England’s 30-man behind-closed-doors training group ahead of the first Test at the Ageas Bowl.