LONDON (AP) — England fast bowler Brydon Carse said he considered getting a toe amputated after encountering longstanding problems because of his bowling action.
The damage to his second toe on his left foot became so bad over the winter when playing for England that Carse was forced to pull out midway through its Champions Trophy campaign in Pakistan and withdraw from a lucrative deal in the Indian Premier League.
The 29-year-old Carse explored every option to deal with the issue, including a drastic remedy.
“It ended up being quite a severe wound I was playing with for the majority of the winter. It got infected a couple of times," said Carse, speaking on Thursday ahead of England’s first Twenty20 against the West Indies on Friday. "It is a bit of a running joke in the changing room, my second toe. So we came up with the thought, ‘Can we just get rid of the second toe?’
“Everyone has had their opinion on my second toe. At one stage I was going to bed thinking, ‘I could actually do this, I think I could get rid of my second toe.’ But then the medical staff said you need it for balance so that was quickly ruled out."
England test captain Ben Stokes’ late father, Ged, famously took a similar course of action in his rugby league days, removing his middle finger at the knuckle to speed up his return to action.
Carse has just returned to action and was picked on Thursday in England's 14-man squad for the five-match test series against India.
___
AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket
The Associated Press
