England fast bowler returns to red-ball cricket after four-year County Championship absence

England seamer Reece Topley has made his long-awaited return to red-ball cricket after being named in Surrey’s playing XI for their Rothesay County Championship game against Leicestershire at the Kia Oval, starting Friday, April 10.

Topley has not played any red-ball cricket since May 2022, when he turned out for the South London county against Gloucestershire, where he went wicketless. Since then, the left-arm seamer has played just white-ball cricket, both for England and for Surrey.

Topley had expressed his interest in returning to the longest format of the game ahead of the new County Championship season. The 32-year-old was part of Surrey’s 14-man squad, which travelled to Cardiff to face Glamorgan in their opening game of the new season. However, he did not make it into the playing XI.

Against Leicestershire, however, Topley has finally been given his chance in red-ball cricket on a green wicket at the Kia Oval. The fast bowler will have to wait to bowl with a fresh Dukes ball with his side batting first after losing the toss.

Topley has played 46 First-Class games since making his debut for Essex back in 2011. He has gone on to take 163 wickets in four-day cricket at an average of 26.88. This includes eight five-wicket hauls and two 10-fers in a game. 

The tall pace bowler, however, never made a Test debut for England. He has gone on to make 65 white-ball appearances for the Three Lions, where he has taken 80 wickets. However, he has not featured at the international stage since he picked up an injury during England’s white-ball tour to the West Indies towards the backend of 2024. 

Topley currently forms part of the Surrey squad, which features a couple of players fighting to keep their place in the England Test setup in Ollie Pope and Jamie Smith. Meanwhile, other players in the team are battling to secure a place back in the side in the form of Dom Sibley, Dan Lawrence and Ben Foakes.