Reece Topley left the field due to injury for the second time in consecutive matches during the opening powerplay of their clash against South Africa, after copping a blow to his index finger attempting to stop field a Rassie van der Dussen drive off his own bowling.
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Topley had already taken a wicket in his opening spell, striking with his second ball to dismiss Quinton de Kock. He continued his impressive start to the competition from England’s games against Bangladesh and Afghanistan, conceding only 11 runs from his first three overs. Van der Dussen decided to cut loose in his fourth, however, and nailed a straight drive down the ground off the fourth ball of Topley’s fourth over.
Topley attempted to stop the ball before it whizzed past him, and managed to get his left hand to the ball which brushed his fingertips on the way through. After the attempt, Topley looked in immediate discomfort, and the physio was called on for treatment.
Spray was applied to his index finger, with replays showing the ball had hit the area around his nail. Once the physio left the field, Topley ran in to deliver his next ball – the fifth of his over – which was overpitched, and smacked for another four by Van der Dussen.
As soon as he delivered the ball, Topley began to walk off the field, signalling for the sub fielder to come on. Joe Root was called upon to bowl the final ball of the over, conceding a single.
The injury adds to England’s worries in the early stages of the match. Adil Rashid has spent a significant proportion of the game so far off the field, reportedly suffering with illness. England dropped Chris Woakes, Sam Curran and Liam Livingstone from the starting XI, with Ben Stokes, Gus Atkinson and David Willey coming in.
England make three changes to their starting XI vs South Africa:
❌ OUT – Liam Livingstone, Chris Woakes, Sam Curran
✅ IN – Ben Stokes, David Willey, Gus AtkinsonSouth Africa are without an ill Temba Bavuma, Aiden Markram will lead the Proteas. #CWC2023 #ENGvsSA pic.twitter.com/nWkpU9tb4E
— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) October 21, 2023
The changes means they have limited bowling options, with Stokes playing as a specialist batter. Root is their sixth bowling option, while Dawid Malan and Harry Brook the only others in the side who have previously bowled overs in international cricket.
Topley has not returned to the field as of the end of the 17th over of the innings, though Rashid has now been introduced to the attack.
