Mills ruled out of T20 World Cup

England paceman Tymal Mills has been ruled out of the Twenty20 World Cup due to a right thigh strain, with reserve Reece Topley set to replace him in the squad, the country's cricket board (ECB) said in a statement on Wednesday.

Mills sustained the injury while bowling in England's 26-run Super 12 stage victory over Sri Lanka on Monday in Sharjah, with a scan on Tuesday revealing the full nature of the problem.

The 29-year-old has picked up seven wickets from four games in the tournament and England are likely to miss his skills and experience in the final overs of matches.

England are top of Group I with four wins from as many matches and take on South Africa on Saturday.

The injury further tests their pace bowling depth with the 2016 runners up already without the services of star fast bowler Jofra Archer.

Mills, who had not been a part of England's national set-up in four years before the tournament, was called up for the showpiece event after impressing at the domestic level.

His replacement, Topley, has played 13 ODIs and six T20Is to date, taking 25 international wickets in total.