Curran storms on to big stage
TOM Curran grabbed his big chance with both hands yesterday as he staked his claim for a World Cup place.
The Surrey bowler would not have played in England’s seven-wicket win over Sri Lanka in Pallekele if it was not for Liam Dawson’s tourending injury but he made the most of his opportunity by taking 3-17 in another rain-shortened one-day international.
Curran was delighted to make his mark. “Sometimes the strength and the depth that we’ve got in the squad means you only have one or two games to impress, so it’s nice to come in and make an impact,” he said.
England’s batting has been the headline grabbing part of this side for some time, but their bowling has now caught up and is winning just as many matches as their power hitters.
With skipper Eoin Morgan again leading the charge with an unbeaten 58 to secure an unassailable 2-0 lead with two games of the series still to play, England showed once more that their one-day unit can adapt and thrive in any conditions, even when it basically becomes a T20.
In a game reduced to 21 overs per side or 126 balls, England only needed 111 to overhaul Sri Lanka’s modest 150-9 thanks to Curran’s box of bowling tricks and the best all-round performance from Ben Stokes in a long time. Stokes was there alongside his captain on 35 not out, hitting the winning runs with a towering straight six, but he also did his bit with the ball after trying to persuade the officials to get the game started as the afternoon rain eased.
Morgan said: “We certainly improved from the last game. It’s been quite a long day waiting around with the rain and the delays but I can’t fault our bowlers.
“To restrict them to 150 on a surface like this, which was so good to bat on and then, what seemed like a very fast outfield, was a fantastic job, so full credit to our bowlers.”
With both teams spending hours cooped up in their dressing rooms as the officials waited for the rain to completely stop, it was no surprise that Sri Lanka flew out of the traps, but they soon ran out of puff.
Niroshan Dickwella’s first eight scoring shots were all boundaries to rich and varied parts of the ground as they raced to 55-0 from just five overs.
It was Curran who put the brakes on by having Dickwella caught at mid-on for 36 and from there Sri Lanka simply never found top gear again, losing 9-95 in the following 16 overs. Adil Rashid somehow managed to grip the wet ball well enough to claim 4-36 from his five overs and the man-of-the-match award.
Rashid has been doing this all year though and he is a seasoned international performer, while Curran was playing in just his ninth onedayer having missed out on the entire English summer, so the pressure was on him to deliver –which he duly did.
Jason Roy’s rapid 41 took the sting out of the chase and allowed Morgan to anchor the innings, ensuring England’s eight-series unbeaten run would be extended to nine.
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