Cricketing Background…
A left-arm seamer and batsman by trade, Curran fulfils a job with ball and bat in the middle order for county side Surrey. The son of former Zimbabwe cricketer Kevin Curran and younger brother to Surrey team-mate, Tom Curran, Sam has developed into a competitive all-rounder producing numerous eye-catching displays.
Possessing a whippy action and tenacious temperament, Curran has good ability when it comes to moving the ball away from the right-hander, and is a precocious talent with the bat in all formats of the game.
Curran's first England call up was when he was drafted into the T20 side in January 2018 as back up for the Trans-Tasman Series with Australia and New Zealand.
County career...
Curran made quite the entrance when, in 2015, he became the second youngest player to make a first-class debut for Surrey, at 17 years and 40 days old. Having waited until 3pm to start the match due to rain, he quickly went about making up for lost time, splitting Joe Denly’s stumps with just his fourth ball in professional cricket, and going on to pick up eight wickets in the match.
He continued to thrive that summer and capped off a memorable maiden season by taking all 10 wickets in a Championship innings with brother Tom to become the first siblings to achieve the feat in 65 years. They finished with combined figures of 10/81 and a mere 37 years shared between them.
But it was in 2016 when he truly grabbed the attention of the cricketing public. Having recently completed his A-Levels and finished school, Curran made 96 in victory over Lancashire, his highest score to date. In the nine matches he was available that summer, he took 27 wickets, including his first six-for for Surrey in their final match against Durham. It was also during that season where he showed promise in white-ball cricket as Surrey reached the final of the One-Day Cup.
While some struggle after such impressive starts to their career, Curran has sustained his progress and now has over 100 first-class wickets to his name. Indeed, in his last County Championship match, he took career best figures of 10/101 to help Surrey beat Yorkshire by an innings and 17 runs. The match proved the perfect audition for Curran, with him claiming the wicket of England men’s Test captain Joe Root - his second dismissal of the day – by trapping him in front LBW.
Curran v Curran...
Two brothers. Only three years separating the pair. Watch below to see how alike they are
What they said…
Surrey Director of Cricket, Alec Stewart, once described Sam as “the best 17-year-old cricketer” he had ever seen. And told Sky Sports earlier this year: “When I first saw him as a 15-year-old he was a standout batter. He will be a genuine all-rounder and it wouldn't surprise me if his batting eventually overtakes his bowling.”