England’s woes continue as another fast bowler is ruled out of the World Cup due to injury. Reece Topley replaces Tymal Mills in the 15-man squad.
This incident adds to the misery as other pace weapons like Jofra Archer, Sam Curran and Ben Stokes have not been at Eoin Morgan’s disposal. Mark Wood, the best fast bowler in the squad, hasn’t been able to play a match yet.
During the match against Sri Lanka, Mills had to leave the field during his 2nd over. He suffered a strain on his right thigh, similar to a problem he experienced back in 2018. On examination, the injury is not a major one, but he won’t be fully fit to take part in the World Cup.
Reece Topley will replace England’s joint-highest wicket-taker at the tournament in the 15-man squad. During the encounter against Sri Lanka, Sam Billings came on as a substitute fielder for Mills, while Chris Woakes bowled the remainder of the over. Leg spinner Liam Livingstone bowled his entire quota of four overs, which made up for Mills’ absence.
The former Royal Challengers Bangalore bowler took to Twitter to express his emotions. He said he was ‘gutted’ to be injured again and promised that he would do anything to ‘get back again’ before sharing his support to the England team for the remaining games.
Mills had featured for England for the first time since 2017 when he donned the jersey in the tournament opener. He picked up 2 and 3 wickets against West Indies and Bangladesh, respectively, ensuring England would not miss the services of Jofra Archer. Although he was slightly on the expensive side against Sri Lanka and Australia, his ability to bowl at the death alone warranted his place in the side.
Morgan will have his work cut out, finding a replacement for Mills. From the fit set of players, Tom Curran and David Willey are the two suitable options. However, if Mark Wood is available for selection, he will go straight into the playing 11.
England has been on fire this tournament, winning all four of their matches so far. Their last assignment in the group stage will be against SA, after which they will face the Group B runners-up in the semi-finals.
