Curran hopes winning habit earns him the nod
SAM CURRAN had more than a passing interest in what was going on across the lawn at England’s Kandy hotel as he pondered the perfect start to his Test career. ‘There is a selection meeting over there now,’ said Curran, as he glanced at a table comprising the England brains trust. ‘Ed Smith will be having sleepless nights because someone is going to be disappointed on Wednesday.’ There was much to ponder during the chat yesterday involving national selector Smith, the England coaching staff and captain Joe Root. England may have a ‘nice’ problem after their win in Galle but it has given them a hugely difficult selection for the second Test. It looks certain England won’t drop Curran as they have won all six Tests that he has played in. Curran said: ‘I don’t want to say too much about the winning run in case I jinx it but I’ve just tried to be as natural as possible and not over-think it.’ One member of the party disappointed already is Ollie Pope who is being sent to play on the Lions tour of the UAE. ‘Ollie will get more out of playing with the Lions than being on the sidelines in Sri Lanka,’ said coach Bayliss. Sri Lanka’s problems piled up yesterday when captain Dinesh Chandimal was ruled out of the remaining two Tests of the series with a groin injury and spinner Akila Dananjaya was reported for having a suspect action. However, Dananjaya is available to play in the second Test before he undergoes testing.