T20 World Cup: Reece Topley hands England injury blow ahead of Afghanistan opener

England suffered an injury scare on Monday ahead of their World Cup opener against Afghanistan when Reece Topley rolled his left ankle during fielding practice.

The left-arm seamer stepped on to the ‘Toblerone’ boundary foam at the Gabba while taking catches during practice ahead of England’s warm-up victory over Pakistan and is a doubt for Saturday’s opening match.

England will continue to assess Topley this week but it is a potentially desperate blow for a gifted bowler who has suffered extensive injury problems throughout his career.

Topley takes a catch to dismiss Haider Ali during the recent T20 series against Pakistan 

Topley, 28, has overcome four stress fractures of his back in five years to become a regular and important member of England’s white-ball side and sits just outside the top 10 in the world Twenty20 rankings.

He has become particularly adept at death bowling, a traditional weakness for England, and had been earmarked to bowl the crucial 19th over throughout this tournament.

Whether that can still happen remains to be seen and his possible absence is the first real blow England have had in a campaign that has started brilliantly, with three wins in four warm-up games and a dominant performance in the washed-out fourth.

And they saw Liam Livingstone return from injury on Monday to play his part in England’s final win over Pakistan and put down a marker for a place against Afghanistan in a side brimming with exciting options.

Liam Livingstone was excellent with the bat during England’s win over Pakistan on Monday

If Topley’s injury proves serious they have alternative options in travelling reserves Tymal Mills, who has looked impressive and quick in practice here, and Richard Gleeson.

Mills could provide another left-arm angle along with Sam Curran and David Willey as well as serious pace alongside Mark Wood, while Gleeson is an experienced option.

England hope it will not come to that and that Topley’s latest injury blow is merely an inconvenience at the start of a long tournament. They will assess him again in Perth where England will train on Thursday before their opening game.

Another left-armer who looks sure to face Afghanistan is Curran, who has had a great start to this trip and now looks likely to bat as high as No 7 in England’s line-up, with captain Jos Buttler favouring as many bowling options in his side as possible.

Sam Curran looks sure of his place in the England side for the opener with Afghanistan 

Curran has also looked good at the death here and looks set to bowl the 18th and 20th overs, and bring the batting ability that saw him impress against Pakistan with a breezy unbeaten 33 off 14 balls with three sixes.

‘I had not done much batting up until now but that’s a good thing because it means our guys have been batting well but Jos said to me, “Go up the order”,’ said Curran, who batted at six at the Gabba. ‘I really enjoyed it and it was a good run out.’

Curran is now in line to have the role of ‘finisher’ in this England batting line-up, coming in after Moeen Ali and possibly either Livingstone or Harry Brook. He will perhaps only face a handful of balls, but they will be crucial ones.

‘You have to train in a certain way to predict what you might face,’ said Curran. ‘You see the way Livi plays. He knows his role, he knows he will come in and attack and there will be some days it comes off and others when it doesn’t. If I play, I will come in after the middle order and try to make the most of it so I’ve been working hard on my batting.’