England has announced a major change in its bowling lineup for the first Test against India at Headingley in Leeds. Brydon Carse, who has been their star performer on recent tours to Pakistan and New Zealand, will open the bowling with Chris Woakes. This is a new role for Carse as he hasn’t done it regularly since 2019. Here are further details. Carse was England’s standout bowler on their winter tours to Pakistan and New Zealand, taking 27 wickets at an average of 19.85 in his first five Tests. He impressed with his pace, bounce, seam movement and physical robustness. However, he has only opened the bowling once in these matches – by default as one of two fast bowlers in the second Multan Test. England gave Carse his first chance to open the bowling in their recent ODI series win over West Indies. He took an early wicket in all three matches, impressing the selectors enough to give him another shot this week. His performance at Headingley could have long-term implications for England’s bowling attack, especially with Gus Atkinson’s fitness still a concern. England captain Ben Stokes has backed the decision to give Carse the new ball. He believes it will also help Josh Tongue, who has mostly been a change bowler in his first-class career. Tongue will be playing his fourth Test after missing last summer due to injuries. Despite being a different format and color of ball, Stokes is confident about Carse’s ability as a new-ball bowler. Carse has practiced with new balls in training this week to prepare for the role. He is fully fit after a serious toe injury ruled him out of the IPL and last month’s Test against Zimbabwe. The player had earlier joked about considering amputation due to his injury but is now ready for his first home Test at Headingley. Carse was serving a three-month ban from all cricket for gambling offenses last summer. He didn’t bet on any matches he played but placed over 300 bets on other cricket matches, which is unacceptable according to the ECB’s anti-corruption code. However, this ban worked in his favor when he made his Test debut in Pakistan as he was physically fresh after working hard on his fitness while suspended.