Reece Topley suffers suspected fractured finger during England's World Cup drubbing by South Africa; Jofra Archer will not be considered to replace fellow seamer if injury is tournament-ending; Archer had been travelling reserve with England in India but not deemed ready to play
Saturday 21 October 2023 17:39, UK
Reece Topley is a serious doubt for the remainder of England's flagging World Cup campaign with a suspected broken finger but will not be replaced by Jofra Archer if a change needs to be made.
Topley took a knock while bowling during England's 229-run drubbing by South Africa in Mumbai on Sunday and did not come out to bat as his side slumped to 170 all out chasing a record 400.
Fellow seamer Jofra Archer is a travelling reserve with the group in India but head coach Matthew Mott confirmed to Sky Sports that the 28-year-old will not be stepping up to the main squad.
Mott, speaking after England suffered a third defeat in four matches, said: "We are still waiting on Topley but it is very much looking like a crack. That is the early diagnosis but we will wait on x-rays.
"Jof [Archer] is not going to be considered for selection, he is not going to be able to play a part in the end of this campaign."
Archer has not played for England since the white-ball tour of Bangladesh in March of this year and sat out the entire home summer after a recurrence of a stress fracture of the elbow.
Since making his England debut against Ireland in May 2019, injury has limited the Sussex seamer to just 49 matches across the formats (13 Tests, 21 one-day internationals and 15 T20 internationals).
Topley's career has also been blighted by numerous injuries and he missed last year's T20 World Cup triumph in Australia after tumbling on the boundary cushion in training ahead of the tournament.
Sky Sports Cricket's Nasser Hussain added "It is so sad for Topley. He has been through every injury. This was an innocuous push back [from South Africa Rassie van der Dussen onto Topley's fingers].
"You thought he might be okay but then you could tell from his reaction when he went off, kicking two chairs, that it was serious.
"Let's hope his finger is not broken, let's hope he is fine, but it doesn't look good.
"Also, what was Jof doing here?
"I know you want to look after him because he has had so many injuries but now he can't be a replacement. It's not been a good week for England's decision-making."
England will now have to draft in a replacement from back home if Topley's injury is tournament-ending.
Fellow seamers Brydon Carse, Luke Wood and Matthew Potts, all of whom featured in the ODI series against Ireland in September, are names that could be considered.
