Huge blow to England’s chances - how key injury could impact selection
The injury to Reece Topley is hugely significant to England’s plans ahead of the tournament campaign.
Topley rolled his ankle on a boundary sponge during preparations for the final warm-up match against Pakistan in Brisbane, and subsequent tests have ruled him out of the tournament entirely.
He will be replaced in the squad by Tymal Mills, but there is no one bowler who can replace what Topley has brought to England’s white-ball side in the last year.
His height, pace and left-arm angle has made Topley a crucial part of England’s bowling attack, with the 28-year-old proving impactful in both the Powerplay and the death overs.
And Topley’s absence makes it even more likely that England will lean on a bowling-heavy approach to try and utilise two players to replace his role in the XI.
While not one of the biggest names in international cricket, Topley has been extremely effective in the last year for England, taking more wickets in T20Is than any other England player.
He is also the second-highest England bowler in the MRF ICC T20I Player Rankings and the team’s highest-ranked seamer. Of all the quick bowlers competing at the World Cup, only Australia’s Josh Hazlewood is currently ranked higher.
With England already without the services of Jofra Archer due to injury, Topley’s latest fitness setback effectively leaves Jos Buttler without two of his first-choice bowling attack in the format.
Mark Wood and Adil Rashid were already locked for two of the bowling spots in England’s first-choice XI. But there had been debate over whether the captain and coach might opt for a batting-heavy approach, naming just four front-line bowlers and relying on Moeen Ali, Liam Livingstone and Ben Stokes to make up the rest of the overs.
The loss of Topley at both the top and tail of the innings would put huge pressure on such a strategy.
England could opt to replace Topley with a bowler seen as a death-specialist such as his squad replacement Mills or Chris Jordan in the XI and lean on Stokes to replace the Powerplay overs.
But throughout Buttler’s short captaincy tenure he has preferred to have the extra bowling option, and if he continues that policy into the Super 12 then it is likely to see Sam Curran carded at number seven and one of Chris Woakes or David Willey added to the attack for Powerplay impact, with Mills or Jordan also selected with the death overs in mind. In that scenario, one of England’s powerful batters will have to make way.
Regardless of how England progress with their selection strategy, Wednesday’s news is heartbreaking for a bowler who has done a remarkable job to come back time and again from injury setbacks.
It has been seven years since Topley’s T20I debut against Australia. But his number of caps in the format has been limited to just 22 due to suffering four stress fractures in five years.
He underwent back surgery in 2018 and seriously considering retiring from the game, such was the extent of his injury record. Yet his tenacity paid off, with the left-arm seamer making waves on the international stage throughout this year.
In T20 Internationals he has taken 17 wickets in 16 matches in 2022, with an economy of 7.80 despite being frequently used at the most expensive stages of the innings.
And he has been superb in ODI cricket too, taking 13 wickets in seven matches with an economy of just 4.36. His figures of 6/24 against India in July were the best ever by an England bowler in the ODI format.