Reece Topley to miss England's T20 World Cup campaign after suffering ankle ligament damage; Tymal Mills replaces Topley in 15-man squad with Luke Wood called up as a travelling reserve; England's first game is against Afghanistan in Perth on Saturday
Thursday 20 October 2022 09:23, UK
England have been dealt a major blow ahead of their T20 World Cup campaign with seamer Reece Topley ruled out of the competition due to ankle ligament damage.
The bowler, 28, rolled his left ankle during a fielding drill in Brisbane on Monday ahead of England's final warm-up match against Pakistan and will now play no part in the tournament.
Fellow left-arm seamer Tymal Mills has stepped up from his role as a travelling reserve to replace Topley, with Lancashire quick Luke Wood to join up with the squad as a reserve in due course.
Mills has not played since August due to a toe injury.
England's first T20 World Cup game is against Afghanistan on Saturday, while they will also face group fixtures against hosts and defending champions Australia, 2021 runners-up New Zealand and two qualifiers.
Topley is England's leading wicket-taker in T20 internationals in 2022, with 17 scalps in 16 games at an average of 28.
The Surrey bowler has become an integral part of England's T20 bowling attack, operating with the new ball and at the death and rising to 11th in the T20 international bowling rankings.
Topley's replacement Mills played four times for England during last year's T20 World Cup in the UAE, picking up seven wickets at an average of 15.42, before his tournament was ended by a thigh injury.
Incidentally, Topley replaced him in the England squad on that occasion.
Topley reacted to the news on his Instagram, saying that he is "devastated" but wished the England team the "best of luck".
While the injury to Topley is a major blow for England, the return of Liam Livingstone in the final warm-up match against Pakistan on Monday was a boost.
The all-rounder returned after almost three months out with an ankle injury, taking one wicket and hitting a quick-fire 28 from 16 balls, including a massive six that landed on the Gabba roof.
Livingstone said: "There's only so far you can push it before it swells up and knocks you back a couple of days. Flying hasn't made it the easiest. I have to compress it every time I fly.
"It's just the physios wrapping it up in bandages just so it doesn't swell up. The swelling's what limits my range of movement, which makes it a little more painful to train on.
"So I'll be pretty much training every morning and icing all afternoon. It's been niggly but there's a World Cup for England to play for so all the boring days are worth it.
"I've done everything I can to make sure I'm fit and available for Saturday. I'm pretty happy with where I'm at and we've still got another few days before the first game."
There was a minor alarm in his innings against Pakistan when he tripped over while turning around and Livingstone said he played at 90 per cent in the match.
"I didn't really want to go hell for leather," he said. "I pretty much played at 90 per cent. I just wanted to make sure I got back to cricket and got through my bowling, which has been my main worry.
"My batting's been fine since pretty much when I started back to cricket, the turning and stuff was going to be difficult, so to have a slip on it and to feel all right is a bit of a confidence booster. I've still got some work batting-wise but I'm close to where I want to be."
Watch the T20 World Cup live in full on Sky Sports Cricket. Our coverage of England's opening game against Afghanistan begins at 11.30am on Saturday ahead of a midday start.
