Reece Topley pulls out of The Hundred to avoid injuries with T20 World Cup approaching

England pacer Reece Topley, who’s been tremendous for England in the summer, decided to pull out of The Hundred to keep himself fit before the T20 World Cup. Playing for Oval Invincibles, Topley played four matches and picked up five wickets in the tournament. Going into the business end of the tournament, the team will be missing his contribution as the player will be leaving effective immediately.

Reece represented England in 10 matches this year and picked up 17 wickets against South Africa and India. He’s expected to play a vital role for England in the T20 World Cup later this year and thus decided to take a ‘short break’ to avoid any injury before the mega tournament in Australia.

“Taking a short break feels like a sensible precaution to avoid injury and the risk of a longer lay-off. Nonetheless, I am disappointed not to be contributing as the team enters a crucial period in the competition,” said Topley in a statement issued by his team Oval Invincibles.

Coach Tom Moody was disappointed but ‘respects his decision’

Oval Invincibles are currently 5th in the table with sixth points from as many matches. In order to qualify for the playoffs, the team needs to win both their matches against London Spirit and Manchester Originals. Thus, like any other coach, Tom Moody is disappointed to lose one of his match winners in a crucial stage of the competition.

The coach expressed his disappointment but also said that the team ‘respects his decision’. Along with Topley, the team will also miss Sunil Narine and Mohammad Hasnain in the upcoming games.

Sunil Narine will be leaving England to join Trinbago Knight Riders for the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) while Hasnain has been called up by Pakistan to replace Shaheen Afridi in the Asia Cup. The Australian Peter Hatzoglou has been announced as Narine’s replacement, while the team is yet to announce the replacement of Hasnain and Topley.