Topley blow for England at World Cup

REECE Topley has been ruled out of the T20 World Cup with an ankle injury, giving England a major selection headache just days before the start of their campaign.

Topley rolled his left ankle after standing on a boundary advertisement cushion then landing awkwardly during some catching drills ahead of England’s warm-up win over Pakistan in Brisbane on Monday.

Scans confirmed significant ligament damage and the 6ft 7in left-arm seamer was withdrawn from the squad, with fellow left-armer Tymal Mills promoted from his previous status as travelling reserve.

England also had Richard Gleeson on board, but he remains as cover while his Lancashire team-mate

Luke Wood has been Reece Topley summoned to join the back-up group.

Mills, another left-armer who bowls quicker than Topley but who has not played since August 10 because of a toe injury, seems probable to be drafted in by England as they begin their bid to unify cricket’s two most coveted white-ball trophies when they face Afghanistan in Perth on Saturday.

If rubberstamped by the ICC, it would be an unfortunate role reversal, with Mills an injury withdrawal during last year’s World Cup in the UAE because of a thigh strain and replaced by Topley.

While Topley did not make any appearances then, he has gone on to become an increasingly dependable figure in 2022, having overcome multiple stress fractures in his back in recent years.

Topley has taken 17 wickets in 16 T20s this year – with an economy rate of 7.8 impressive given he operates mainly in the powerplay at the death.

The 28-year-old - who is currently ranked as the secondbest seamer in T20 internationals, in a list dominated by spinners - was considered highly likely to be in England’s XI this weekend. England already have left-arm options in Sam Curran and David Willey while Chris Woakes, Mark Wood, Chris Jordan and all-rounder Ben Stokes are England’s other seam bowlers.