England's Reece Topley discards Sussex's contract offer

10/10/2019

Once an England regular in the white-ball format, Reece Topley has rejected a long term contract offer from Sussex and will not play any part from the next domestic season, the club confirmed on Wednesday, October 9th. The 25-year-old left-arm pacer was out of action for a year with a back injury.

After undergoing back surgery, Topley was back in action in July 2019. He played the rest of the season for Sussex, playing in T20 Blast and Championship matches. The Sussex board was hopeful that he would acknowledge the efforts taken by the medical staff in bringing him back to full fitness and helping him in trying to make a comeback in the England setup. But they were extremely disappointed when he rejected a long term contract with the club.

"As a free agent and following back surgery, the 25-year-old was helped back to fitness by Sussex's medical and coaching staff earlier this year... Despite a subsequent successful return to first-team action that saw the left-arm seamer play his first T20 Blast and Championship matches since the 2017 season, Reece has decided that his future lies elsewhere," the club stated in a press release attended by Cricbuzz.

"Sussex Cricket is disappointed not to have been able to convince Reece to resign for the club,” they further added.

Although disappointed, the board was professional enough to thank Topley for his contribution and services and made sure that there was no bad blood between the player and the board.

“Nevertheless, we would like to thank him for his contributions to the team during the season and to wish him well at his new club," they signed off.