SAM SLAMMED

Curran finding it 'very difficult' as 2022 star goes from hero to zero

- RORY DOLLARD

SAM CURRAN admits he has struggled to cope with going from player of the tournament at the last T20 World Cup to fighting for a place in their title defence.

The all-rounder was the beating heart of the side's triumph in Australia in 2022, where 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 three for 12 in the final against Pakistan.

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, arg after rain reduced the game to 10 overs a side and forced a rethink.