LONDON: Reece Topley said returning England’s best One-day International bowling figures during a 100-run rout of India at Lord’s on Thursday had made years ravaged by injury “worthwhile”.

The 28-year-old took an outstanding 6-24 as 50-over world champions England, defending a seemingly modest 246, bounced back from their humiliating 10-wicket defeat at the Oval on Tuesday to level this three-match series at 1-1 ahead of Sunday’s decider at Old Trafford.

Topley made his international debut back in 2015 but four years of his career have been blighted by injuries, with the paceman suffering four separate stress fractures of his back.

“It means a lot, it makes it all worthwhile to be honest,” said Topley.

His father, Don, found fame when as a substitute fielder during a 1984 Test against the West Indies at Lord’s he held a brilliant catch on the boundary off a Malcolm Marshall hook only to step over the rope and concede a six instead.

Reece’s efforts mean the Topley name will now be known for rather more than that at the ‘Home of Cricket’, with the paceman determined to make the most of his international career.

“It is everyone’s dream to play for England,” he said. “I just want to pull the shirt on as many times as I can and play my part. It is a privilege every time.

“It was a terrific team performance to bounce back from defeat the other day and I’m just happy that I played my part.”

Topley’s return was built on maintaining a challenging line and length, with his return surpassing current assistant coach Paul Collingwood’s previous England ODI best of 6-31 against Bangladesh at Trent Bridge that had stood for 17 years.

England captain Jos Buttler, well-placed to assess Topley’s bowling from his position as wicketkeeper, said: “He’s a very popular member of the team and I’m delighted for him.

“He’s had quite an interesting story. For him to come back from that and to take 6-24 at Lord’s is an incredibly special performance. It’s a tribute to his perseverance and his outlook on life and the game.”

England, skittled out for 110 at the Oval, were in danger of another meagre total at 102-5 before Moeen Ali, who top-scored with 47, shared useful stands with Liam Livingstone and David Willey.

On a wicket that had eased up after the first innings, India never found their stride and folded for 146 in 38.5 overs.

Topley landed a double blow early in the chase by getting rid of opposition captain Rohit Sharma (0) and Shikhar Dhawan (9) before Virat Kohli (16), returning from a groin strain, edged behind off David Willey after a fluent start.

Suryakumar Yadav (27) and Hardik Pandya (29) flickered briefly but failed to kick on after promising starts.

All hopes of an unlikely India win evaporated when Ravindra Jadeja was removed by Liam Livingstone for 29 as England sealed an easy win, three years to the day after they beat New Zealand in a dramatic finish to lift the 50-over World Cup at the venue.

Scoreboard

ENGLAND: J. Roy c Yadav b Pandya 23 J. Bairstow b Chahal 38 J. Root lbw Chahal 11 B. Stokes lbw Chahal 21 J. Buttler b Shami 4 L. Livingstone c (sub) b Pandya 33 Moeen Ali c Jadeja b Chahal 47 D. Willey c (sub) b Bumrah 41 C. Overton not out 10 B. Carse lbw Krishna 2 R. Topley b Bumrah 3 EXTRAS (LB-4. NB-1, W-8) 13 TOTAL (all out, 49 overs) 246 FALL OF WICKETS: 1-41 (Roy), 2-72 (Bairstow), 3-82 (Root), 4-87 (Buttler), 5-102 (Stokes), 6-148 (Livingstone), 7-210 (Moeen), 8-237 (Willey), 9-240 (Carse). BOWLING: Shami 10-0-48-1 (3w), Bumrah 10-1-49-2 (1nb), Pandya 6-0-28-2 (3w), Krishna 8-0-53-1 (1w), Chahal 10-0-47-4 (1w), Jadeja 5-0-17-0.

INDIA:R. Sharma lbw Topley 0 S. Dhawan c Buttler b Topley 9 V. Kohli c Buttler b Willey 16 R. Pant c (sub) b Carse 0 S. Yadav b Topley 27 H. Pandya c Livingstone b Moeen 29 R. Jadeja b Livingstone 29 Mohammed Shami c Stokes b Topley 23 J. Bumrah not out 2 Y. Chahal b Topley 3 P. Krishna c Buttler b Topley 0 EXTRAS (LB-7, W-1) 8 TOTAL (all out, 38.5 overs) 146 FALL OF WICKETS: 1-4 (Sharma), 2-27 (Dhawan), 3-29 (Pant), 4-31 (Kohli), 5-73 (Yadav), 6-101 (Pandya), 7-140 (Shami), 8-140 (Jadeja), 9-145 (Chahal). BOWLING: Topley 9.5-2-24-6 (1w), Willey 9-2-27-1, Carse 7-0-32-1, Overton 7-0-22-0, Moeen 4-0-30-1, Livingstone 2-1-4-1. RESULT: England won by 100 runs.

Published in Dawn, July 16th, 2022