England Name Reece Topley's Replacement For Remainder Of Cricket World Cup 2023

England have added Durham seamer Brydon Carse to their squad as a replacement for injured Reece Topley for the remainder of ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2023.

The Event Technical Committee of the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2023 has approved Carse as a replacement for Reece Topley in the England squad.

The replacement of a player can be officially added to the squad only when they receive the approval of the Event Technical Committee.

The Event Technical Committee of the Cricket World Cup 2023 includes Wasim Khan (ICC General Manager – Cricket and ETC Chair), Chris Tetley (ICC Head of Events), Hemang Amin (Acting CEO - BCCI), Gaurav Saxena (General Manager – Operations, BCCI), Russel Arnold and Simon Doull (Independent Representatives).

Carse is expected to arrive in Bangalore ahead of England's World Cup 2023 meeting against Sri Lanka on Thursday. However, Carse making it to England's playing XI looks unlikely having last played a competitive match four weeks ago. He played a One-Day International (ODI) for England against New Zealand last month. Carse also featured in the second-string English side that took on Ireland in ODIs ahead of the World Cup.

The 28-year-old Carse, who made his England debut in 2021, has played 12 ODIs, picking up 14 wickets. The Durham seamer also has four wickets in three T20I outings for England.

Topley was earlier ruled out of the World Cup 2023, currently underway in India, with a finger injury.

Reece Topley's injury

Topley picked up a finger injury during England's 229-run loss to South Africa on Saturday. He was struck while fielding a ball off his own balling in the first innings of the match at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai and could not complete his fourth over. While the left-arm pacer returned with fingers taped together to bowl five more overs, he could not bat in England's chase of 400.

On Sunday, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) confirmed that Topley's World Cup campaign is over after his scans revealed a fracture to his left index finger.

"Scans in Mumbai on Saturday, after the match at the Wankhede Stadium, revealed the full extent of the injury. Topley will return to the UK in the next 24 hours. He will work closely with the England and Surrey medical teams in respect of his rehabilitation," ECB wrote in a media statement.

The ECB also said that it will announce Topley's replacement in "due course".

Topley's injury setback sums up what has been a nightmare campaign for England so far, with the World Cup winners winning just one out of their four matches so far.

Jos Buttler's England are unlikely to qualify for the semi-finals unless they win all five of their remaining fixtures and change their team balance significantly on Saturday.

England confirm Archer won't play

With Topley out of the ongoing tournament, many would have thought fast bowler Jofra Archer would be in the mix for England as the 2019 World Cup winner was described earlier as his side's travelling reserve.

However, England head coach Matthew Mott has already ruled out Archer, who has been in injury rehabilitation, as a possible replacement for Topley.

"He's [Archer] not going to be able to play a part in the end of this campaign," Mott said. Archer is also said to have left India, while his rehabilitation is progressing as expected.

Earlier when Mott was asked if the injured Surrey pacer would be replaced by another seamer, the English head coach replied: "Good question. We'll have to sit down and have a look at that. We'll have to look at the upcoming games. If there is an X-factor player we can look at... that's why we were very keen not to name the replacements and reserves, and it leaves a bit of an open mind for what we might go with."

Reece Topley bowled with taped fingers

On Saturday, against South Africa, when injured Topley returned to bowl with taped fingers, he still managed to dismiss Aiden Markram and David Miller after removing Quinton de Kock with the second ball of the game. But, like the rest of England's attack, the 28-year-old Surrey pacer was hammered at the death by Heinrich Klaasen and Marco Jansen, conceding 45 runs across his final two overs to finish with 3 for 88 from 8.5 overs.

Topley was not picked for England's opening game of the World Cup 2023 against New Zealand. Despite that, Topley has left the tournament as England's leading wicket-taker with eight scalps in three appearances.

It is just unfortunate for the left-arm pacer as it is the second straight ICC event he has left early after he was ruled out on the eve of T20 World Cup 2022 with a freak ankle injury. Topley sustained the injury after treading on a boundary sponge.