England pace bowler Reece Topley has criticised the International Cricket Council for not acknowledging their mistake about his ankle injury sustained before the T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia. The left-arm pacer stated that it was a safety issue and that the apex body ought to have apologised for that as well. However, the ankle injury happened during the warm-up fixture against Pakistan at the Gabba in Brisbane when he stepped on one of the triangular body markers while fielding and the injury eventually ruled him out of the T20 World Cup and underwent surgery as well.
Speaking to The Daily Mail, he refused to dismiss it as a freak incident and also feels that boundary markers at shin heights can be hazardous for fielders as well.
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“There was no apology from the ICC. I don’t think I was the only player to be injured by one of those sponge boundary markers, so hopefully they have been looked into. If not they should be. It wasn’t a freak incident. It was a health and safety issue. People say they love seeing amazing boundary stops but when these markers are halfway up your shin, it makes them harder and nullifies the point of making them soft because they crumble,” Reece Topley further added.
Meanwhile, the left-arm pacer was in promising nick before the showpiece event, picking up 17 wickets in 16 T20Is in 2022 at 28 apiece along with an economy rate of 7.80 as well.
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“I actually wish I hadn’t stayed and watched that first game and had gone home straight away instead, because it was tough. Thinking about it now does bring back memories of eventually travelling home on my own with my leg in a plastic boot. I have moved on from it, and there’s another World Cup to prepare for, and, hopefully, I’ll play a bigger part in this one. It would be huge to be a World Cup winner,” Reece Topley concluded.
