Curran added to Ashes crew
BIG KITTEN (16) M Johnston 9-2 (BF) ............... P J McDonald FLAG FESTIVAL C Appleby 9-2 ........................... Martin Lane GRONKOWSKI (33) J Noseda 9-2 ............................... S Levey JAMIH J Gosden 9-2 ................................................ N Mackay LIGHT UP DUBAI C Appleby 9-2 ............................... W Buick MAYER L Cumani 9-2 ............................................ J P Spencer PRAECEPS (6) Sir M Prescott 9-2 ............................... L Morris QUALITY SEEKER Ed Walker 9-2 .............................. L Keniry REVOLUTIONARY MAN (28) S Crisford 9-2 ...... Oisin Murphy TIGER LYON (22)JButler9-2 ................................. RWinston WHITLOCK J Gosden 9-2 .......................................... R Havlin WILD WEST HERO (15) Sir M Stoute 9-2 ................. T Durcan BETTING: 3 Light Up Dubai, 7-2 Gronkowski, 4 Big Kitten, 6 Whitlock, 8 Jamih, 10 Flag Festival, 16 Mayer, Revolutionary Man, 20 Others. UNCAPPED Surrey seamer Tom Curran has been added to England’s Ashes squad after Steven Finn was ruled out of the tour.
Finn, himself a late replacement for the absent Ben Stokes, has been diagnosed with torn cartilage in his left knee and will head back to England for a possible operation.
Curran is next in line and the England and Wales Cricket Board has announced he will fly to Australia today.
In a video posted on the Brown Caps’ official Twitter feed, Curran revealed he was dozing when the career-changing news came his way.
“I was sleeping to be honest. I saw a couple of missed calls when I woke up, so I’ve just heard the news and I’m very excited,” he said.
“I’m very proud, very humbled... it’s been a rollercoaster, a year I’ll never forget.”
Curran has long been considered a rising star of the county game and made his first steps into international cricket this summer, appearing in three T20s and a one-day international against the West Indies.
He took 24 wickets in Division One of the Specsavers County Championship at 34.66 as well as averaging a handy 27.44 with the bat. Liam Plunkett, a mainstay of the white ball set-up but not seen in the Test arena since winning the last of his 13 caps in 2014, and Mark Wood, set to travel Down Under with the Lions as he battles back from a heel injury, were other viable options.
Curran will link up with the side in Adelaide, where Joe Root’s team are facing a Cricket Australia XI from today.