Topley leading England bid for a clean sweep
ENGLAND’S limitedovers revolution can gather pace today when they have the chance to become the first team since Australia 14 years ago to complete wins in both a Test and one- day series in South Africa in the same winter.
Victory in the third one- day international here would give England an insurmountable 3-0 lead in this five-match series and represent the best achievement yet in a year of extraordinary 50-over progress.
England are unrecognisable from the old-fashioned outfit who failed so dismally in the World Cup less than 12 months ago and are now on the brink of defeating the team who came within a whisker of reaching that 50-over final.
So often the one-day series has been an anti-climax after a notable Test series win, but England are now reaping the benefits of Andrew Strauss’s insistence white- ball cricket should be taken just as seriously as the red-ball game.
That has led to a largely different limited-overs team, with even the best Test bowler in the world in Stuart Broad being left out while younger bowlers are given the chance to learn at the top level.
Nobody epitomises that more than Reece Topley, the 21-year-old who has been handed an opportunity to open the bowling and responded with his first four-wicket haul on Saturday in Port Elizabeth.li b th
Now Topley looks certain to spearhead England’s attack in the World Twenty20 in India next month while continuing to gain 50-over experience ahead of the Champions Trophy next year and the 2019 World Cup.
‘We don’t want them to get back in the series here,’ said Topley, who has brought his left-arm variations successfully to international cricket.
‘We want to wrap it up in this game, put the series to bed and then hopefully go for a 5-0. It’s gone well for me but the bottom line is we’re 2-0 up and that’s more satisfying.’
A series win here would be the best achievement yet for a side who began their renaissance in spectacular style against New Zealand last summer before losing narrowly to Australia and then winning in Pakistan.
‘We’re in such a brilliant place,’ said Topley. ‘We are all enjoying ourselves and having a lot of fun doing what we love. I’m thankful I’m playing for England and I don’t want the ride to end. I am living my dream by putting in performances for my country. It’s where everyone wants to be.’
Where once it was felt England should have the same captain in all forms of the game, now it is accepted it is in everyone’s best interests to keep the Test and one-day sides separate.
‘There is still a core who play both forms but the one- day set-up has a different feel to how it used to be and there’s less of a transition,’ said Topley. ‘Having split captaincy is a good thing and Eoin Morgan has been amazing as our skipper.
‘He has a clear plan of what he wants our team to be. He, Trevor Bayliss and Paul Farbrace filter that down to us and we have a clear way of how we want to play our cricket. They give us a lot of confidence and trust our feelings out on the pitch.’
Broad is likely to have a minimal role at best in this series as England seek to find out as much as possible about the next generation.
Morgan and Bayliss see Broad as a strong candidate for the one-day side in the big tournaments in English conditions, but for the moment are happy to learn more about Topley, David Willey and Chris Jordan.
Topley, the giant left-armer from Hampshire via Essex, is one bowler very much in the journey for the long haul, starting with England’s attempt to keep South Africa down here today.
SOUTH AFRICA (probable): H Amla, Q de Kock (wkt), F du Plessis, AB de Villiers (capt), D Miller, JP Duminy, C Morris, I Tahir, K Rabada, K Abbott, M Morkel.
ENGLAND (probable): A Hales, J Roy, J Root, E Morgan (capt), B Stokes, J Buttler (wkt), M Ali, A Rashid, D Willey, C Jordan, R Topley.
Umpires: C Gaffaney (NZ) and J Cloete (SA). TV: LIVE on Sky Sports 2 from 11am (start 11.30am).