"My finger bent completely backwards" - Reece Topley on his injury sustained during 2023 World Cup
England's new-ball bowler Reece Topley revealed that his finger completely bent backwards, ending his hopes of further participation in the 2023 World Cup. The 29-year-old highlighted that it was damage control from that point to somehow get through the remaining overs.
Topley suffered the finger injury during the World Cup fixture against South Africa at the Wankhde Stadium in Mumbai. The left-arm seamer went off the field but returned to complete his spell and finish with figures of 8.5-0-88-3, making him the pick of the England bowlers. The defending champions eventually lost by 229 runs.
Speaking to The Daily Mail, Topley revealed that he knew he was out of the World Cup soon after suffering that injury, and it only made sense to fly back home.
"There was no point me staying," Topley said. "I knew straight away I was done. My finger bent completely backwards. I tried to bowl another ball afterwards and got driven for four.
"The physio looked at it but I knew it was bust. It was then a case of taking loads of anaesthetic and strapping my finger to the other finger to get me through the overs and do whatever I could for the boys."
The Surrey seamer admitted that England have played nowhere near the expectations and was concerned by the manner of their defeats. However, he believes it's the best team the selectors could have picked.
"The manner of the defeats are really worrying," he said. "We've gone down not in the way that we want to play. This team looks nothing like the outfit that the fans have loved. You win or you learn in sport and It doesn't look like we've learnt with those big defeats.
"The messaging has been pretty clear but we've not gone out and done what we were asked to. It's not a bad team at all. It's the best 15 in the country but in a World Cup, you can't have that many players out of form."
Brydon Carse was called up as the injury replacement. After losing to the Proteas, England crashed to two more defeats to Sri Lanka and India, effectively ending their hopes of reaching the semi-final.
"I'm already looking forward to the T20 World Cup next year" - Reece Topley
The 29-year-old stated that he was keen to prove himself in the tournament and already wants to become a top-notch performer in next year's 2024 T20 World Cup. Topley, whose ankle injury ruled him out of the 2022 T20 World Cup, added:
"Frustration was because I knew I was going home. I want to propel myself and be talked about as one of the best in the world but I need to play to prove that. The last few years I've felt like I'm in a great place and you can see that from my contributions.
"I'm already looking forward to the T20 World Cup next year. I want to win a World Cup for England and put myself into that conversation with some of the best bowlers in the world."
England's next 2023 World Cup game is against Australia on November 4 in Ahmedabad.