England fast bowler Reece Topley is preparing expecting the co-hosts, the West Indies, to have the upper hand when the reigning champions play their Super 8 debut. The 30-year-old is excited to take on the task of adaptation that will be needed on a St. Lucia pitch that saw the West Indies thrash 218 against Afghanistan only two days ago, following a group stage in which bowlers dominated for the most part.
“It’s nice that there’s obviously new conditions to try and adapt to but I think it’s going to make for a pretty good cricket wicket regardless,” Topley said prior to the match. “I think the wickets have been kind to bowlers so far so it might be time to take a bit of medicine and it might be in the business of problem-solving now and things are a bit more complicated for us as a bowler but the mission statement is pretty much the same.”
Topley acknowledged that bowling methods and bowler rating metrics would need to be reevaluated due to the batting-friendly ground at the Daren Sammy National Cricket Stadium, but there were still opportunities to attack the opposition, especially with the new ball and the cross-breeze assisted swing. Yes, that is undoubtedly a sophisticated perspective. Basically, I think it’s still the same—trying to neutralize someone’s strengths—but maybe now, as a bowler, you could argue that, as they close out, a single is a win instead of last week, when you could be a little more aggressive and try to be a little more aggressive with field placements and other things “said Topley.
However, this week might be a little different because of the different pace of the wicket—I believe I’ve noticed it’s a lot more bouncy—but in a similar vein, I suppose that presents a benefit that we can try to take advantage of in the powerplay by trying to get some nicks and other things.
“It is true that wind is appreciated as a swing bowler. The ball swings for a little while longer—possibly even a little bit longer—thanks to it. However, there is also a side that is difficult to ignore. When you travel that direction, the ball really does fly. Therefore, I believe that both the bowlers and the batsmen would attempt to take advantage of it. It will therefore be an interesting competition, much akin to a chess match.”
A highly rowdy home audience supported the Rovman Powell-led team when they defeated Afghanistan two nights ago in this very stadium. Although England didn’t play here during their white-ball tour of the Caribbean in late 2017, that series was characterized by strong support for the visiting team, which is unlikely to be the case this time and will present another challenge for Topley & Co. in addition to the altered conditions. “Yeah, I think that’s something we’ve already brought up is we’ve not played in front of an opposition crowd for a long time now,” he stated.
“English fans were incredibly supportive, even when we visited in November. Yes, ideally, no matter what happens, we can still put on a great concert. It’s going to be incredible, and I’m confident that it will be a night that, ideally, we can all look back on as a meaningful World Cup night that helped us reach our objective.”
In terms of his own goals, Topley wants to make a lasting impression on what he believes will be an England championship defense.
He broke his finger while fielding off his own bowling last year, which prevented him from competing in the ODI World Cup, and he missed England’s victory in the T20 World Cup in 2022 due to an ankle injury sustained during training the week before the competition.
“Yeah, obviously injuries are not by design or anything like that, they kind of happen,” he said. “I’m very at ease with the fact that in the past, it was all up to me; I just checked all the boxes, crossed all the Ts, dotted all the Is, and so on. Everything simply occurred; it’s all part of the game, and I didn’t leave a single trace. I’ve just been doing that, and fortunately, I’m still here and it’s the Super 8s. I believe this is going to be a really exciting week, and like I mentioned before, you’ll look back on it later in life and realize that it was a really meaningful and successful week that helped us win the World Cup here.”
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