Tymal Mills set to replace Reece Topley in England's Men's T20 World Cup squad

England are set to draft Tymal Mills into their T20 World Cup squad subject to ICC approval after Reece Topley was ruled out of the tournament with an ankle injury, ESPNcricinfo understands. Topley will fly home to England, where he will undergo surgery on his ankle.

On Tuesday it was announced that Topley had “rolled his ankle” after standing on a boundary cushion during a fielding drill ahead of their final warm-up match against Pakistan in Brisbane the day before. The prognosis was initially hopeful ahead of England’s tournament opener against Afghanistan on Sunday in Perth, but the injury is worse than expected.

Mills, one of the travelling reserves, is likely to have beaten fellow fast bowling reserve Richard Gleeson to the call-up on account of his previous tournament experience. He performed well at last year’s Men’s T20 World Cup in the UAE, with seven wickets at 15.42 and an economy rate of 8.00 in the four games he played. His participation in that tournament was cut short by a thigh injury and, as it happens, Topley was the one to replace him in that 15-man squad. He also has a bank of experience in Australian conditions, with previous Big Bash League stints for Brisbane Heat, Hobart Hurricanes and Perth Scorchers. If selected, he would offer a valuable option for captain Jos Buttler, with his speed and nous, particularly at the death, having performed the role admirably in the previous T20 World Cup.

However, Mills has not played any cricket since August 10 after getting an operation on an injury to his right toe that blighted his 2022 summer. The last of his 13 T20I caps came in July, against India at Edgbaston, taking 1 for 35 from three overs. Having tried to give it time to recover, a decision was made to operate in the middle of August after his first appearance in the Hundred for Southern Brave against Birmingham Phoenix.

Mills spent the seven-match tour of Pakistan at home getting up to speed before joining the squad in Australia. He has so far participated fully in all net sessions ahead of the tournament. England’s next training day is Thursday.

This article was originally published by Espncricinfo.com. Read the original article here.

Tymal Mills set to replace Reece Topley in England’s Men’s T20 World Cup squad

Products You May Like

Leave a Reply Cancel reply