SAM'S STICKY WICKET

Curran struggling to accept bit-part role

- RORY DOLLARD

SAM CURRAN admits he has not enjoyed going from player of the tournament at the last T20 World Cup to fighting for a place in England's title defence.

The all-rounder (inset, top) was the beating heart of the side's triumph in Australia in 2022 when his left-arm swing became a match-winning weapon.

He topped the wicket charts with 13 in six games and produced a decisive turn of 3-12 in the final against Pakistan at the MCG.

But a little more than 18 months down the line, he finds himself striving to break into the first-choice XI in the Caribbean, with his best chance of featuring in England's first Super 8 game against the West Indies seemingly an injury doubt over Liam Livingstone's side.

He did not make the cut for the first three group games and only made the fourth, against Namibia, when rain reduced the game to 10 overs a side and forced a rethink.