Although England may not have enjoyed a great summer so far in white-ball cricket, left-arm seamer Reece Topley has been the standout performer.
Topley has endured a long and difficult road to get back in the England side after suffering a string of career-threatening injuries. The 28-year-old first played for England in 2015 and was part of the side that finished second at the 2016 T20 World Cup.
However, just two years later, Topley suffered a fourth stress fracture of the back which almost saw his career come to a premature end. He was forced to undergo surgery and took a year away from the game to rehab the injury, eventually returning to action in 2019 with Sussex.
Topley has quickly earned himself an England recall and is hoping to feature in the upcoming T20 World Cup in October, having been an unused reserve at last year's tournament. While reflecting on his previous World Cup experiences, Topley said: "It does feel like two careers for me and in the 'second career' you definitely cherish everything and take it in a lot more.
"The first World Cup didn't go well for me. I was young and I know why I didn't do well – I just let outside things get to me and I just went away from what I do well.
"I didn't stick to my plans. Then last time I was watching from the sides and thinking about how lucky were the guys who were playing.
"I will definitely use that as extra motivation, look to dwell on those experiences when I get out there to cement a spot. It means I have a lot of experience that I can use.
"That bodes well especially at the death or when you are in pressure scenarios when you need to keep a calm head. Hopefully I get some more success in influencing games for England.
"Hopefully everything lines itself up and I am pretty content that if I take care of things from my end then everything will take care of itself."
