ENG vs IND: They Played Away From The Body A Lot More Against Reece Topley - Brad Hogg On Why Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli Struggled In England
Former Australian cricketer Brad Hogg believes that left-arm pacers David Willey and Reece Topley worked very well as a combination and they troubled both Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli as a result.
India’s weakness against left-arm pacers is well-known and the likes of Willey and Topley fit into the category. While the former can swing the ball back into the right-handers, Topley’s height allows him to trouble the batters.
“Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma get as forward as they can against Willey and they are comfortable playing on the front foot and driving him.”
“But against Topley, who doesn’t bring it in as much as Willey and gets the extra bounce, they play [away] from the body a lot more. And when it doesn’t come back in, it forces them to play away from the body, and that was their downfall,” Hogg said on his YouTube channel.
“David Willey and Reece Topley were a very good combination” – Brad Hogg
Topley registered career-best figures of 6/24 in the second ODI, incidentally the best-ever for an England bowler. He also picked up three wickets in the final game where England lost by five wickets. Willey played the supporting role very well and didn’t have much to show in the wickets column.
“England had plenty of options in the previous ODI series against India and Rohit and Kohli struggled against one of them. But it was set up from the other one.”
“David Willey and Reece Topley were a very good combination. One, they have got variation in height, Topley is a lot taller than David Willey. But Willey swings the ball more and looks to go fuller than Topley,” he added.
