England begin T20 World Cup campaign vs Afghanistan on Saturday, live on Sky Sports Cricket; Fast bowler Reece Topley now an injury doubt after rolling ankle in training; Sam Curran: “We’re definitely ready now. We’re feeling like we’re almost not peaking but we’re playing good cricket”
Last Updated: 18/10/22 8:05am
Reece Topley has emerged as an injury doubt for England due to a rolled ankle
England bowler Reece Topley has emerged an an injury doubt ahead of their first T20 World Cup match vs Afghanistan on Saturday.
Topley rolled his left ankle on a piece of advertisement foam on the boundary during some catching drills at Brisbane on Monday afternoon and did not feature in the final warm-up against Pakistan.
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Highlights of the T20 World Cup warm-up match between Pakistan and England
England announced Topley “will be assessed throughout this week” and are hopeful of a swift recovery, but they do have Tymal Mills and Richard Gleeson on standby if the issue proves to be more serious.
It is an unwanted headache for England as they travel to Perth to take on Afghanistan on Saturday, live on Sky Sports Cricket from 11.30am, with Topley becoming an increasingly dependable figure in the white-ball ranks since the turn of the year.
The 6ft 7in left-arm seamer, who has overcome multiple stress fractures in his back during his career, has taken 17 wickets in 16 T20s in 2022 and can bowl anywhere in an innings – with an economy rate of 7.8 impressive given he operates mainly in the powerplay at the death.
Sam Curran and David Willey are England’s other left-armers in England’s 15-strong squad.
Fast bowler Topley (right) has become a key man within England’s T20 ranks
Curran is expected to be in England’s XI against Afghanistan, irrespective of whether Topley features, and believes they are tracking well after an improvement in results recently following a disappointing summer.
England recorded a 4-3 win in Pakistan and then thrashed the same opponents by six wickets in a low-key practice match on Monday, having also beaten World Cup hosts and defending champions Australia 2-0.
“We’re definitely ready now,” Curran said. “We’re feeling like we’re almost.. not peaking… but we’re playing good cricket.
“We’re really excited, hopefully with a couple of good training sessions in Perth, come the weekend we’ll be good.”
Bowler Sam Curran has impressed of late for England and will be important vs Afghanistan in their T20 World Cup opener
Curran, who was ruled out of last year’s World Cup shortly before the tournament with a stress fracture in his lower back, had some success against Australia bowling the 18th and 20th overs.
Renowned for his habit of being front and centre in the crucial moments of a game, Curran demonstrated his all-round ability with an unbeaten 33 off 14 balls against Pakistan on Monday.
Moved up to sixth in the order, one spot higher than where he is likely to bat against Afghanistan if he is selected, Curran showed he is quite adept at the finishing role with a cluster of boundaries.
While batting towards the end of an innings is regarded as one of the most difficult aspects to perfect in T20 cricket, Curran revealed he takes his cues from those above him.
“It’s very challenging but it’s just a role you’ve got to enjoy,” Curran said. “Guys like Moeen (Ali), (Liam) Livingstone, Harry Brook are experienced in that middle-over phase so they help me through it.
“You’ve got to train maybe in a certain way, (try to) predict what you’re going to face. You see the way Livi plays, he knows his role, he knows he’s going to come in and be attacking.
“There will be some days where it doesn’t work, some days where it does. We knew we could get something out of this game (against Pakistan) but the way we played was really impressive.”
Curran says England are “definitely ready” to be unleashed onto the World Cup
While England go into the World Cup in buoyant mood after recent results, Curran warned against complacency given the first two days have already produced a couple of shocks, with Scotland upsetting the West Indies, the 2012 and 2016 champions, a day after Namibia stunned Asia Cup winners Sri Lanka.
“You take confidence from (winning) but at the same time, you’ve seen some of the results already at the World Cup,” Curran added. “It’s a T20 format, anything could happen.
“Afghanistan are a side that are extremely skilful, they’ve got a world-class players who can win you games by themselves. We know it’s going to be a really tough opening game.”