Wham bam, thank you, Sam
CURRAN GRABS ENGLAND’S FIRST T20 ‘FIFER’ ‘BRING ON AUSSIES... FRIDAY WILL BE EPIC!’
SAM CURRAN claimed England’s first-ever T20 five-wicket haul in a performance beyond even his own expectations as Afghanistan were brushed aside in Perth.
The five-wicket win was built on the back of an outstanding bowling and fielding display, of which Curran’s 5-10, from just 3.4 overs, was the star turn.
Capable of turning his hand to almost anything on a cricket field, it was Curran’s first World Cup game having missed the last one through a back injury – and he made the most of it.
He has emerged as England’s death-bowling tsar and, by wrapping up the Afghan innings with four wickets in six balls, he showed just how deadly he can be.
Curran said: “At the start of the game, I didn’t expect to be walking off like that.
“I wasn’t aware it was the first five-wicket haul, and that is great, but the most important thing is we got the win.
“I had a chat with [England skipper] Jos Buttler, and he challenged me, and said I should be ready to bowl in all phases of an innings. You want to be involved in the tough
situations – and sometimes it won’t come off, as I’m very much aware.
“But having had a consistent run in the side has given me a lot of confidence because I missed the last one. I’m really enjoying it.”
And Curran already has half an eye on a massive game on Friday against the defending champions Australia.
Curran said: “There is no hiding that it is going to be an epic game with Australia. If we win there, it will be great for us – and it might put the Aussies in a tricky position.”
Curran’s efforts left England with a comfortable target of 112, but the chase was far from straightforward – a combination of poor shot-selection and competitive bowling meant only one player scored more than 20.
Liam Livingstone was the man who eventually anchored the innings home, with 29 not out, avoiding some of his more flamboyant strokes in the interest of game management.
So much of England’s whiteball success in recent years has been down to their incredibly powerful batting line-up, but not here. Batsmen spluttered while their bowlers purred.
Along with Curran there were others queuing up to show what they could do.
Mark Wood’s 2-23 came as a result of the fastest four overs this tournament has ever seen. Averaging 92.6mph across his 24 deliveries, Wood was too hot to handle for the Afghans, who could be forgiven for swinging and missing inside the line.
There was a high-quality 2-19 from Ben Stokes, who opened the bowling and enjoyed a different experience to the last over he had bowled in a T20 World Cup – getting battered for four sixes on the trot in the 2016 Final.
England’s work in the field was impressive too, with outrageous catches all over the giant playing surface.
Livingstone, Adil Rashid and
Buttler (below) all held on to stunning catches that made a real difference to the game.
Curran added: “We’ve really worked hard on
our fielding in the last couple of weeks.
“We know that it’s
going to be really important in this tournament.
“Liam got us started with his great catch and that set the standard for the rest of the
innings.” This was an ideal start to the tournament for England and reaffirms just why they might have already elbowed Australia out of the way as favourites for the title, even allowing for that shaky chase.
They had the same tag a year ago in the UAE after bowling the Windies out for just 55 in their opening game – before coming unstuck.
That said, this is potentially a better team – thanks in no small part to Curran’s re-emergence.