Footage of Brydon Carse kept flashing up on the big screens at Lord’s on Thursday. Not that footage, of course, but rather the headline-grabbing fast bowler enjoying a refreshing can of the fizzy apple juice that is English cricket’s “official drinks break partner”. In fairness, both clips make a decent advert for sticking to the softies.
In Carse’s absence – not that he was likely to play in the second Test – the metaphorical clouds hanging over this England team made way for the real thing. After being stuck in on a nibbling slow surface, a Swiss clock-precise seamer like Pakistan’s Mohammad Abbas was only ever going to be a handful.
