Reece Topley

[IlfordEagle]

Like the other posters I'm pleased he's doing well for England, still scope for improvement physically, mentally etc, he needs regular cricket in 2016 not being injured so much & his back to hold up, like his action, decent run up, good temperament & bowls good yorkers & slower deliveries.
Batting wise he is poor, Don could teach him a bit (he was no mug himself), runs lower down are always useful, Tom Craddock wasn't much of a bat when he joined but he contributed a few useful innings & more importantly developed a decent defensive technique making himself hard to get out, Reece could aspire to that at least.

[Crisp]

Poor fielding should have gambled and taken the catch which ended up on the grass.

 Why bowl full tosses to Morris who showed in one day games what he can do with them?

Why didnt he learn from earlier in the over when he didnt get close enough to the wicket to run the non striker out?

Stretching by being short of the wicket cost us the game as he was struggling and dropped the fielders return and ultimately the game.

Hard pills to swallow for Reece?

[ytsejam]

Unlucky Topley!! haha, Judas!

[Postman]

Leaving aside the predictable Judas rubbish (why not stick to watching football if that's the most intelligent comment you can come up with?) this does show what a limited cricketer Topley currently is. His fielding is almost as bad as his batting, and as for the latter, can anyone name a worse No 11 to have played for Essex? Even Charlie Childs was better.  These day-especially in limited overs-just having one strong suit isn't enough.

[Sunny1066]

He hasn't played enough good class cricket to become savvy.

[IlfordEagle]

can anyone name a worse No 11 to have played for Essex? Even Charlie Childs was better.  These day-especially in limited overs-just having one strong suit isn't enough.

Scott Brant wasn't very good,David Acfield similarly, seem to recall Andy Clarke & Joe Grant as being poor also, but yes as you say you can't just be good at one skill;, I noticed a bit last year & also the year before Reece had deteriorated in the field a bit & his bowling lacked a bit of control, perhaps when he matures & gains more experience he will improve in these areas.

[Sunny1066]

To move on he has to stay fit which is a talent he lacks.

[JasonP]

can anyone name a worse No 11 to have played for Essex? Even Charlie Childs was better.  These day-especially in limited overs-just having one strong suit isn't enough.

Scott Brant wasn't very good,David Acfield similarly, seem to recall Andy Clarke & Joe Grant as being poor also, but yes as you say you can't just be good at one skill;, I noticed a bit last year & also the year before Reece had deteriorated in the field a bit & his bowling lacked a bit of control, perhaps when he matures & gains more experience he will improve in these areas.

Clarke wasn't that bad.  Andrew Mcgarry was as bad a Topley.  There was very little difference between Topley and Tait last year.  One match last year Topley batted at 10 ahead of Tait.  Although somehow Tait has two First class 50s.  He hasn't played any first class cricket for years so he probably has got worse since then as he would hardly face a ball in T20.

[firehazard]

can anyone name a worse No 11 to have played for Essex? Even Charlie Childs was better.  These day-especially in limited overs-just having one strong suit isn't enough.

Scott Brant wasn't very good,David Acfield similarly...

I have the memory of Acfield dropping a crucial sitter on the boundary in a JPL match at Chelmsford right in front of us. Couldn't tell you which match it was, but the image (false or true) is ingrained in my mind. Never quite forgave him.

[constable.p@gmail.com]

Personally i don't feel his bowling is good enough to make up for his lack of batting ability in the short game.  Woakes or Willey  would be better for the team.

[Andy]

He needs to learn a lot and fast. Something that England cricketers always seem less able to do than others and, as is said, he's not getting the match experience.

[honkytonk]

I would have Topley in the side over Jordan all day!!  Jordans bowling has been poor at best (excluding one or two games).  Nick Knight said that England believe he is their best Yorker bowler, so why does he bowl so much other toot. 

[jimmy]

I would have Topley in the side over Jordan all day!!  Jordans bowling has been poor at best (excluding one or two games).  Nick Knight said that England believe he is their best Yorker bowler, so why does he bowl so much other toot.

pardon the diversion but I see you have written "toot" to describe Jordan's ragtag mix of dross, I always wonder how this word is actually written, we all no how to pronounce it but toot seems to be the word for the sound a car horn makes and for is as in jelly for, so how is it spelt ?

[Postman]

can anyone name a worse No 11 to have played for Essex? Even Charlie Childs was better.  These day-especially in limited overs-just having one strong suit isn't enough.

Scott Brant wasn't very good,David Acfield similarly, seem to recall Andy Clarke & Joe Grant as being poor also, but yes as you say you can't just be good at one skill;, I noticed a bit last year & also the year before Reece had deteriorated in the field a bit & his bowling lacked a bit of control, perhaps when he matures & gains more experience he will improve in these areas.

Clarke wasn't that bad.  Andrew Mcgarry was as bad a Topley.  There was very little difference between Topley and Tait last year.  One match last year Topley batted at 10 ahead of Tait.  Although somehow Tait has two First class 50s.  He hasn't played any first class cricket for years so he probably has got worse since then as he would hardly face a ball in T20.

Partly answering my own question re worst Essex No 11s, yes I'd forgotten about McGarry, and agree he was no better than Topley. A lot of tail enders can belt the occasional ball out of the ground if they are strong enough, eg Joe Grant, a certain Pakistani leg spinner, even Topley senior (I once saw him hit three successive 6s in pursuit of 24 needed off the last over), but Reece sadly seems to belong to the "can't get it off the square" brigade, as did McGarry-although does anyone remember the time he faced Glen McGrath and cheekily snicked a single to get off strike? (v Worcs).

[Perov]

I can't remember if he batted at 11, but the Irish lad Adrian McCoubrey, was not much of a batsman.