England bowler Carse close to Durham return

Brydon Carse has claimed 27 wickets at an average of 19.85 in five Tests for England

England bowler Brydon Carse is close to a return with Durham as he gets back to fitness following a toe injury.

Carse missed the Indian Premier League with Sunrisers Hyderabad after picking up the injury in the Champions Trophy in February.

He is not ready for England's four-day Test against Zimbabwe later this month, but Durham head coach Ryan Campbell hopes the 29-year-old could play against Nottinghamshire in the County Championship beginning on 16 May.

"Brydon is up and running and close," Campbell told BBC's Stumped podcast.

"We'll be looking at giving him an opportunity to maybe play in our next game. Everything has to go well over the next week or so, but fingers crossed."

Carse made his England Test debut in October against Pakistan, going on to play five of the six Tests there and in New Zealand.

The South Africa-born bowler made a strong impression with his ability to generate pace on batter-friendly wickets, taking 27 wickets across those Tests.

With a five-match home series against India starting on 20 June, Campbell said that Carse will need overs to get up to sharpness for that series.

He is hoping that the bowler will play in successive matches at Banks Homes Riverside against Notts and then Somerset seven days later.

"If England have identified that first game against India as his first game of the summer, Brydon is not a guy like Mark Wood who can just sit on the sidelines and then come out and bowl fast," Campbell said.

"Brydon does need a bit of work and he needs to bowl some overs.

"So I am hoping that we have him for the next couple of Durham matches, which would be a great thing for Brydon and a great thing for Durham."