England suffers major setback in World Cup 2023 campaign

MUMBAI: Jos Buttler-led England suffered a major setback as Reece Topley has been ruled out of the ODI World Cup 2023 tournament due to an injury.

In a statement, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) said that Reece Topley has been ruled out of World Cup remainder after fracturing his left index finger.

“England and Surrey seamer Reece Topley has been ruled out of the rest of the ICC Men’s World Cup after fracturing his left index finger during England’s defeat to South Africa on Saturday,” the statement noted.

Topley sustained a blow to the index finger of his bowling hand while attempting to stop the drive on his follow-through.

Initial reports suggested that the left-arm pacer may have cracked his finger. He was then taken for scans in Mumbai which revealed the full extent of his injury.

“Scans in Mumbai on Saturday, after the match at the Wankhede Stadium, revealed the full extent of the injury.  Topley will return to the UK in the next 24 hours,” the ECB added.

“He [Reece Topley] will work closely with the England and Surrey medical teams in respect of his rehabilitation,” the statement concluded.

The left-arm paceman’s career has been blighted by injury problems and he missed England’s victorious T20 World Cup win in Australia last year following a freak accident where he tripped on a boundary sponge on the eve of the tournament.

It is pertinent to mention that the ECB is yet to announce Reece Topley’s replacement for the ICC World Cup 2023 but right-arm speedster Jofra Archer emerged as a strong contender.

Jofra Archer, one of the stars of England’s 2019 World Cup triumph, joined the squad earlier this week but the fast bowler has not played competitively since May.

His time in India is being seen by England primarily as a chance for their medical staff to assess Archer’s progress as he continues to recover from a longstanding elbow injury.

Read More: South Africa beat World Cup favourites England by 229 runs

Defending champions England are off to a horrible start, as they have just managed to win only one match out of the four games they have played and are now at the bottom of the table.

In the last match, South Africa beat England by 229 runs after posting a mammoth 399 against the defending champions in their World Cup 2023 clash here at Wankhede Stadium Mumbai, thanks to explosive batter Klaasen and the bowling unit.

Klaasen made 109, despite being repeatedly troubled by cramp, as South Africa posted a colossal 399-7 — the highest total conceded by England at this level.

England then collapsed to 68-6 and were 170-9, with exactly 28 overs to spare, when the match ended, with last man Reece Topley unable to bat following a hand injury suffered during South Africa’s innings.

This crushing loss was England’s heaviest ODI defeat following a 221-run reverse against Australia at Melbourne in 2002.