England pacer Reece Topley on comeback track with World Cup call-up in his sights

London [UK], July 25 : As he begins his recovery from a string of injuries that prevented him from competing in the T20 World Cup in Australia last year and the IPL, England pacer Reece Topley is anticipated to make a playing return for Surrey in a 50-over match against Suffolk next week. This will be followed by a full stint with Northern Superchargers in the Hundred.
The 29-year-old Topley left for Australia in October expecting to play a significant new-ball part in what ended up being a successful event for England, who went on to become the first men's white-ball side to simultaneously hold both the 50- and 20-over World Cups.
"I knew I was going home. When I was sat in Bangalore with my humerus bone in front of my pec, I was just like, 'wow, how quickly can I get home to have surgery?' It wasn't like I was going to hang around or whatever. It was just, like, let's just get out of here," Topley was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo, recalling the incident at the Chinnaswamy in early April.
His recovery will undoubtedly be closely watched by England selectors as their focus shifts from the ongoing Ashes to the white-ball series against Ireland and New Zealand in September, in preparation for this winter's defence of the 50-over World Cup in India. He is a 6'7" frame with the ability to generate pace, swing, and bounce from an awkward left-arm angle.
"The Hundred is almost like end-stage rehab, I guess," Topley said at the launch of the KP Snacks community cricket pitches initiative in Tottenham. "Obviously I'll look to put in some good performances and I'll want to do well for Superchargers because we've got a great squad that wants to go all the way.
"But then, obviously, you got New Zealand and Ireland," he added. "Those games will be quite pivotal in the lead-up to the World Cup. I know that the conditions are slightly different, but 50 overs is something we don't play a lot of anymore, so that game-time in an ODI will be massively important. So I'll look to hopefully play those, and get up to speed as soon as possible."
Topley, who was a member of the team that advanced to the World T20 final in Kolkata in 2016, where Carlos Brathwaite famously hit four consecutive sixes off Ben Stokes to steal the trophy from England's grasp, will be going back to India for his second World Cup campaign, assuming he can maintain his fitness for the remainder of this summer.
"I suppose it's nice that you've got people that have experienced that sort of heartbreak, especially out in quite an emotional place which is India. When you're playing, everyone's emotions seem to be running high, whether you're one side of the boundary rope or the other. But, equally, there'll be some new faces in that squad. There's a few stalwarts and ever-presents, but even those new faces have got IPL experience. So I don't think there's anything that's going to throw up any surprises to anyone," Topley said.
"I'm really excited. There's a lot of debate about 50-over cricket, but when there's a World Cup on the horizon, there's few other things that you can say you're going to prioritise ahead of 50-over cricket," he added.