The England bowler will take to the field on Tuesday against South Africa in the third one-day international in Centurion, bidding to secure the series with two matches still to play.
Best performance
Topley, 21, will make his eighth appearance for England in an ODI on Tuesday, having made his debut last summer against Australia. His haul of four for 50 in the second ODI on Saturday in Port Elizabeth was the best performance for his country to date, and that helped them to a five-wicket victory to go 2-0 up in the series.
Whitewash
Topley wants England to whitewash the South Africans by winning all five one-day matches, and he said: “We don’t want them to get back in the series,” he said of South Africa. “We’re one game away from the series, and we want to wrap it up here – and then hope we can go for a 5-0.” England have not won a five-match series 5-0 since 2001.
Satisfying
Topley, whose county side is Essex, has 11 ODI wickets to his name, and he has also played in two Twenty20 matches, but he said he was more interested in the result than his own form. “It’s obviously nice to get personal accolades along the way. But the end result as a team is what we all want to reach. The bottom line is we’re 2-0 up, which is the more satisfying thing.”
Dream come true
Topley is in contention to be selected for England’s World T20 squad to compete in India next month, with the 15 names due to be announced on Wednesday. “If I go to India, it will be a dream come true because that’s where I want to be, representing my nation at a World Cup,” he said. “If I’m picked to play out there I would love to show what I can do.”
Remaining games
The remaining one-day matches in the series between South Africa and England after Tuesday are in Johannesburg on Friday, and then in Cape Town on Sunday.
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