The ball Reece Topley produced to bowl Shakib Al Hasan in Dharamsala was as perfect as it gets.
Throw it to the off stump, pull Shakib forward and out of the crease, hit the off bail. “That’s where you want it to be,” Topley said of the postgame stream. “The wind was blowing over my left shoulder. I was hitting the ball really well…I thought today was going to be a good day for me. Sometimes I feel that way.”
By the time he bowled Shakib in the sixth over of England’s innings, it was already turning out to be a good day for Topley. He hit the fourth ball of the match and used his early momentum to find Tanjid Hasan’s outside edge and two balls later he also dismissed Najmul Hossain Shanto to complete his hat-trick.
Although he was selected by the Bowlers in his World Cup debut with 4 wins and 43 losses, Topley said his performance was more of a starting point than a peak. “I’m a little half-cooked,” he said. “I hope it happens at the right time. I haven’t played much cricket this summer and I’m covered in cotton wool, so I’d like to thank everyone for being here.”
The journey Topley took to reach this World Cup is worth remembering. He was first selected for England at the age of 21 and was part of the white-ball plans for almost a decade. But he will miss one in 50 of his squad due to a lengthy injury layoff, including missing last year’s T20 World Cup. He often considered quitting the sport as he was often frustrated by injuries.
But in India, given the devastating impact he had on Topley as soon as he was given the chance, whether unprepared or not, he was not selected for England’s opening match against New Zealand. seemed like an even bigger oversight.
Since the start of 2022, Topley has taken more wickets than any other English left-arm pacer. He accomplished this with a lower average, economy, and strike rate than anyone else. In all innings bowled by Topley during this period, he was used as the opening bowler to take advantage of early momentum and rebounds from a considerable height releasing the ball. His role in the attack is clearly defined.
An incredible spell of bowling from Reece Topley today 💥#CWC2023 #ENGvsBAN pic.twitter.com/wv6AcEi5m0
– Wisden (@WisdenCricket) 10. October 2023
However, England decided to replace Topley with Sam Curran as their new left-sided baller after a disastrous tournament opener against New Zealand in Ahmedabad. It seems to have been a decision based both on their batting fears and what their best bowling attack was. With Moeen Ali playing as the second spinner and Curran ahead of Chis Woakes at number eight, the chances of a collapse were, in theory, mitigated by the possibility of lower runs. But while England actually needed that last goal against New Zealand, they had bigger problems with the ball.
Curran soon fell victim to Rachin Ravindra’s show along with Mark Wood after playing a few impressive overs. This is only the fourth time in the last two years that Curran has been used as the opening bowler in an ODI. In all three matches he played in the England vs. New Zealand tournament preparation series, the specialist left-winger appeared bowlingafter the power playafter bowling the opener with the new ball.
Yesterday in Dharamsala, he was held up again until the end of the power play. Despite being in England’s first ever World Cup eleven, his reduced and changed role means the team is still figuring out how best to use him and are still trying to find the right combination. It’s a clear sign that you’re struggling. Curran has been integrated into the mainstream ODI squad in the hope that he can make a similar impact to last year’s T20 World Cup thanks to his effectiveness at the death in T20Is. While this is certainly doable and he played this role well in Bangladesh earlier this year, there is a fundamental difference between his ODI bowling and his T20 bowling that needs to be recognized.
Curran is most effective at the point in a T20 game when the batsman is looking to score the quickest runs: 10 runs and an over. In ODIs, it is understandable that if a batsman is content to loose 5-6 runs per over in the early and middle innings, he will be less effective.
In 2019, England had a well-thought-out approach to their pace attack. Woakes and Jofra Archer bowled the opening deliveries, with Liam Plunkett and Mark Wood taking over in the middle. Their offense has been much less polished this year, as they have struggled to replace Plunkett’s role in recent years, and both Woakes and Wood have been sidelined for extended periods with injuries.
However, there is a ready-made and devastating new ball powerhouse in England’s top tier. The full force of his devastating impact was felt last year against India, where he bagged six wickets in a stunning spell that destroyed India’s top-flight status. He dismissed Rohit Sharma for a duck and named Shikhar Dhawan and Suryakumar Yadav. England’s other left-backs, Curran and David Willie, simply cannot do this kind of magic.
The left-arm pacer is the center of bowling’s best attack in this World Cup. Mitchell Starc, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Trent Boult had all been selected before the tournament to win the wicket-taker’s trophy at the end of the tournament.
Yesterday’s match showed that England have their own weapons in this regard, if only they were to select him.
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