Sam Curran: Know About England’s Bright New Left-arm Fast Bowler
By bowling an incisive spell on the second morning of the first Test against India, baby-faced Sam Curran suddenly went from a fringe player to a social media rage. The 20-year-old left-armer rattled the Indian batting line-up, bagging 3/23 in his first six overs.
Curran’s first victim was Murali Vijay who was looking in good touch and had strung together a partnership of 50 with Shikhar Dhawan, before departing for 20. A sharp incoming delivery struck Vijay’s pads and he was out LBW. With his tail up, Curran soon accounted for KL Rahul’s wicket too and castled him for four. India lost their position of strength as Dhawan was caught at second slip by Dawid Malan for 26, again through a superb outswinger. This effort meant that he became the youngest England bowler to claim three wickets in England in Tests.
Curran’s success against India comes on the back of a strong county showing in his young career already. The all-rounder is already an impact player for his county Surrey, where he plays with his elder brother Tom Curran. In a first-class career spanning a little over three years, he has bagged 119 wickets and scored 1,447 runs in 42 matches.
His ability with the ball, coupled with more than handy batting skills, meant Curran was fast-tracked into the English side. Curran made his Test debut against Pakistan in Leeds this June and bagged two wickets. England won that match comfortably and Curran had done enough to catch the attention of England selectors as one for the future.
Even in the shorter formats his name has been doing the rounds and when his older brother was ruled out with a side strain from the ODI series against India, he was picked as replacement. With James Anderson and Stuart Broad in the last phase of their careers, England will be counting on him to keep making strides forward.
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