Curran's Looking To Shine With Red Ball Too

Chris Stocks catches up with England white-ball ace Tom Curran, who still harbours hopes of joining younger brother Sam in the Test side

Tom Curran hasn’t given up hope of playing alongside his little brother, Sam, in England’s Test team but admits this summer’s Ashes series against Australia will probably come too soon.

Both Currans were in the squad for the three-match T20 series against West Indies that ended England’s winter in the Caribbean.

Sam has gone on to great success in his first season in the Indian Premier League, looking every inch value for the £800,000 Kings XI Punjab paid for him when taking a hat-trick against Delhi Capitals at the start of the month.

Older brother Tom also played in the IPL last year, taking six wickets in five matches at 19.66 for Kolkata Knight Riders after being drafted in as an injury replacement for Australia’s Mitchell Starc.

However, the Currans’ international careers have taken different paths, with 23-year-old Tom now a regular in England’s white-ball squads and Sam, 20, a fixture in the Test set-up following a breakthrough series against India last summer.

The younger Curran’s left-arm seam bowling gives England’s attack muchneeded variation in the longer format, although it was his batting that came to the fore against India last summer after game-changing innings in the first Test at Edgbaston and the fourth at Southampton turned the series decisively in his country’s favour.

He has yet to establish himself in either England’s one-day or T20 teams and was not included in the preliminary squad announced last week for this summer’s World Cup.