England’s star fast bowler, Reece Topley, injured his finger in the ongoing ODI World Cup 2023 match against South Africa at the renowned Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on October 21.
Specifically, he sustained the injury when trying to stop a powerful drive by Rassie van der Dussen with the fourth ball of the seventh over. While making the dive to prevent the ball from reaching the boundary, it grazed his fingertip near the nail.
He managed to bowl one more ball but conceded another boundary, suggesting that his finger wasn’t in good condition. However, Joe Root delivered the final ball of Topley’s over as the fast bowler left the field for treatment.
Regarding the game, England captain Jos Buttler won the toss and chose to field first. Quinton de Kock started strongly by hitting a boundary off the first ball of the match.
They used a spray on his index finger, as video replays indicated that the ball had struck the part near his fingernail.
After the physiotherapist finished attending to him on the field, Topley resumed his delivery. His next ball, the fifth of the over, was slightly too full, and Van der Dussen hit it for another four runs.
However, he couldn’t replicate his previous standout performance in the current tournament because Topley got him out with the second ball of the match.
The South African opener tried another forceful drive through the off side, but the ball nicked off the outside edge and was comfortably caught by wicketkeeper Buttler. Initially, it appeared that the bat had touched the ground, and the umpire favoured the batsman.
However, England challenged the decision, and the review showed a gap between the bat and the ground when the ball made contact, leading to the decision being reversed.
England under pressure following a surprising defeat to Afghanistan
For those unaware, England had a stunning loss to Afghanistan in their last match of the ongoing ODI World Cup 2023 at Delhi’s Arun Jaitley Stadium.
Choosing to bowl first, England held Afghanistan to 284 runs in 49.5 overs, with Adil Rashid taking three wickets. In the second innings, Afghanistan’s bowlers dominated from the start, restricting England to just 215 runs in 40.3 overs.
England has more problems at the beginning of the match. One of their players, Adil Rashid, has been sick and not on the field for a while. They also made changes to their starting team by replacing some players with others.
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