Curran strikes to put himself nicely in the frame for a place in World Cup squad
TOM CURRAN’S awesome foursome rapped out a perfectly-timed reminder of his worth to keep the pressure on selectors ahead of their World Cup D-Day.
Curran’s name might be near the top of some lists not to make the final 15 for the tournament.
“If Mark Wood gets through these two games, it’s going to be a close call – you would have to say Tom Curran might miss out,” former England skipper Michael Vaughan had speculated.
But like the rest of the bowlers desperate to go to the party, he arrived at Trent Bridge determined to demonstrate why he deserved an invitation.
At various points in this ODI series against Pakistan, fellow bowlers David Willey and Liam Plunkett have shown their worth, but Curran is starting to look a must for the squad.
And one would hope that was the gist of the conversation between suspended captain Eoin Morgan and national selector Ed Smith as they watched on from the team balcony.
Curran’s secondbest career figures of 4-75 might appear a little expensive, but in another high-scoring affair they were much better than that.
On another terrific batting surface at a ground that is replacing the Rec in Antigua as the home for major runs records – in the 50-over game at least – Curran’s afternoon of showing off his skills was one for the bowlers to enjoy.
He disrupted the steady early runscoring flow by removing Fakhar Zaman for 57 and accounted for century-maker Babar Azam just as the dangerman was poised to launch a sustained attack.
All the chat before the game was about the express pace Jofra Archer and Wood would unleash, and there was plenty of that.
Wood clocked 92.4mph and smashed Imam-ul-Haq on the elbow with a brute of a ball, requiring a trip to hospital for an X-ray which gave him the all-clear.
Archer’s quickest was 93mph, but he offered some guile too, mixing up his slower balls to good effect in his 1-62.
He and Wood took valuable scalps in the middle of the innings, removing Mohammed Hafeez, Shoaib Malik and Asif Ali before any could do the sort of damage they are capable of.
Shoaib’s wicket was particularly crucial, although how much credit Wood (left, with Archer) can claim is debatable – the batsman rocked back to cut and flattened the stumps.
Wood, Archer and Curran at least got through their 10 overs, giving them a full chance to show what they can do.
Stand-in skipper Jos Buttler made sure Joe Denly had an opportunity to prove if his claims to be a genuine all-rounder had merit.
Previous efforts with the ball in this series have been poor to say the least, but here on an unhelpful pitch he bowled rather well, conceding 27 runs in five overs, with just two boundaries.