"He’ll be back batting tomorrow" - Brydon Carse on Ben Duckett amid opener's injury on day 2 of PAK vs ENG 2024 1st Test

England pacer Brydon Carse has asserted that opener Ben Duckett will bat on Day 3 of the opening Test against Pakistan in Multan despite suffering a finger injury. The 29-year-old revealed that Duckett will undergo assessment overnight to be ready on day three whenever required.

The Nottinghamshire opener sustained the injury after taking the catch to dismiss Abrar Ahmed off Joe Root's bowling on Day 2 (October 8). The blow to the left-hander meant that he did not come to open the innings, with stand-in captain Ollie Pope taking the responsibility alongside Zak Crawley.

At the presser after the day's play, Carse said, as quoted by BBC:

"Ben’s OK. He’s just taken a knock. He’ll be assessed overnight and he’ll be back batting tomorrow."

Pope opened the innings but perished for a duck as Naseem Shah had him miscue a pull to mid-wicket as Aamir Jamal took a one-handed screamer.

"There'll be ice baths" - Brydon Carse on England bowlers sending down 149 overs

Carse, who on debut sent down 22 overs for his three scalps, revealed how Ben Stokes kept telling him that conditions won't be as unforgiving as this. He hopes to see the English batters have a good outing on Day 3 and said, as quoted by ESPN Cricinfo:

"A couple of the guys and Stokesy [Ben Stokes] said to me when we came in after fielding, 'look, Brydon, it's not going to get as tough as this [again] over the last two days'. I had a conversation with Woaksey and Gus towards the end there. Both them boys' legs were proper hanging on. There'll be ice baths. we're testing our hydration."

"I've been in the red for most of these two days, even with the constant consumption of water and fluids. But tonight, the lads will refuel and get food down us, and try and get a good night's sleep, and hopefully have a good batting day tomorrow."

Despite losing Pope, the tourists reached 96-1 at close on day two as Zak Crawley and Joe Root will resume. England still trail by 460 runs.