‘Heart of a lion’: England’s Brydon Carse hailed by Stokes after 10-wicket haul

• Durham quick key to win over New Zealand in first Test
• Carse named player of the match after taking 10-106

As Brydon Carse stood on Hagley Oval’s outfield under an azure sky and basked in the afterglow of his 10-wicket match – one that showed his potential as an overseas safecracker and muscled England to victory in the first Test – the splice-thumping fast bowler was described as having “the heart of a lion”.

Given the words came from Ben Stokes, a man who has a pride of them tattooed on his back, it could be taken as a fair old dollop of praise. Stokes cannot stockpile enough quicks for the challenges ahead and the emergence of Carse, fresh from impressing on the less conducive pitches of Pakistan, is another missile in the silo.

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