Reece Topley and his unfinished business at the World Cup

Don Topley couldn't sleep. He ventured out of his hotel room in Singapore at 3 am, looking for a cup of tea and some news when devastation struck him, not for the first time. "The opening line on the sports news was, England frontline seamer out of the World Cup," Don tells Cricbuzz. A couple of days before, Reece, his son, who was tipped to lead England's fast bowling attack in the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia, suffered a freak injury.

Reece was out training to take dual catches at the boundary line with Chris Jordan a day before the warm-up match against Pakistan on October 17 in Brisbane, when he tripped over the boundary skirting and hurt his ankle ligaments. The fast bowler then travelled with his teammates to Perth where England's World Cup campaign was to kick-off four days later, but his journey ended even before the first ball was bowled in the tournament.

"I remember going to visit him in the Perth hotel next door to the Optus stadium. I couldn't console him, he just burst into tears. Seeing a 28-year-old man crying in the prime of his career, having it [World Cup] being taken away from him..," Don says.

Don and his wife Julia have travelled a lot to watch Reece play international cricket over the years. This trip via Singapore was to take them to Perth first where he was set to play Afghanistan in the tournament opener, and then trail England for the entirety of the campaign. Internal flights were booked, and hotels paid for. What they arrived at instead was Reece sitting in his room in a moon boot, unable to fight the onrushing of tears.

Reece had no intention to stick around for long. This was not how his 2022 was meant to turn out. Just a couple of months before the T20 World Cup, he flexed his white-ball credentials with a six-wicket haul against India in an ODI at Lord's - the best ODI figures by an Englishman (6 for 37). In line with his cruel career trajectory, however, this high was met immediately with the crushing low of missing out on the T20 World Cup that England went on to win.

"He went home immediately after the England-Afghanistan first game in Perth. As England were walking off the field, he gave them a high-five, got into the car and went to the airport. Even today, it makes me feel cold and awkward. He had that very long flight with a layover in Singapore. I bet he had some very quiet moments. That must've been horrendous," Don revealed.