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England's white-ball head coach Matthew Mott shed light on the prevailing speculations surrounding Jofra Archer's potential replacement for the injured Reece Topley in the World Cup 2023. Topley's suspected broken finger might see him out of the remainder of the ODI World Cup 2023. Notably, he sustained the injury during England's World Cup clash against South Africa which they lost by 229 runs at the Wankhede stadium in Mumbai on October 21, Saturday.
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Reece Topley, known for his unfortunate trysts with injuries, stands on the precipice of missing another significant cricketing event. Topley has showcased remarkable form in the ongoing ICC World Cup 2023, emerging as one of England's frontline bowlers.
A spirited effort to prevent a drive from Rassie van der Dussen resulted in the ball grazing his left middle finger. Despite rejoining the game with taped fingers, the severity of the injury loomed.
In a post-match discussion with Sky Sports, following England's staggering defeat to South Africa, Mott said, “I thought Reece Topley going back out to bowl with a broken finger showed great spirit,” he said. He further said, “We’re still waiting on that, but it’s very much looking like it’s a crack. Certainly, that’s the early diagnosis, but we’ll find out properly with X-rays.”
Meanwhile, Jofra Archer, who's currently in India as a part of the World Cup's traveling reserves, has been battling a persistent elbow issue. While many anticipated Archer's straightforward inclusion into the squad post-Topley's setback, Mott dropped a bombshell. He stated unequivocally, “Jof is actually not going to be considered for selection. He’s reported to the medical staff, but he’s not going to be able to play a part in the end of this campaign.”
Reflecting on the crushing 229-run defeat, Mott candidly expressed his feelings about England's challenging night in Mumbai. “I can’t sugarcoat that, it was a hard night for us. We came in with really good intentions in this game,” he remarked.
“It was a fantastic cricket wicket. We looked at the ground stats; it said it was a good chasing ground. On reflection, I thought the heat was probably more than we bargained for. It certainly looked a little bit like a warzone there at times, particularly after Topley went off,” Mott concluded.
Batting first, Heinrich Klaasen's lightning 67-ball century, Reeza Hendricks 85 off 75 and Marco Jansen's fiery 75 off 42 ensured South Africa post a colossal total of 399/7. In reply, the star studded England's batters looked clueless in front of South African bowlers as they were bowled out for a paltry 170, thanks to Gerald Coetze's three-fer.
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