When England won the 2022 World Cup in Australia, one player was vital to their success: Surrey’s left-handed all-rounder, Sam Curran. The then 24-year-old was Player of the Match in the final, taking 3 for 12 against Pakistan. He was named Player of the Tournament, with 13 wickets at 11.38; his death-bowling skills were a particular asset to Matthew Mott’s side. After this, Curran was touted as one of the best white-ball cricketers in the world, a sentiment that was underlined by him being sold in the Indian Premier League (IPL) to the Punjab Kings for a then record fee of 18.50 crore, approximately £1.6 million. His place in England’s white-ball set-up seemed untouchable, a World Cup match-winner entering his prime, valued at a record price on the biggest franchise stage. He was arguably England’s biggest white-ball asset. At that time, few would have predicted Curran being dropped from the side just a couple of years later.
England’s craving for raw pace sidelined Curran
Brendon McCullum’s reign as white-ball head coach began at the beginning of 2025 and got off to the worst possible start. Curran was omitted from the England white-ball tour of India in the early part of the year, a decision that signalled a clear shift in preference rather than a temporary dip in form. England were thrashed 4–1 in the T20 series and then whitewashed in the ODI series that followed. Those performances and results in India were mirrored in their Champions Trophy campaign in Pakistan: Buttler’s side lost all three matches to Afghanistan, Australia and South Africa, failing to qualify for the knockout stages. The collapse made Curran’s absence even more intriguing and ultimately resulted in Jos Buttler stepping down. Curran told ESPN at the time that “there were loads of different reasons I didn’t get picked”, one likely factor perhaps McCullum’s appetite for England’s bowling attacks to have a battery of quicks. Archer, Atkinson, Carse, Overton, Mahmood and Wood were all in that Champions Trophy squad, very different to Curran’s left-arm, low-80mph seam bowling.
That tournament, and England’s issues throughout the rest of 2025, coupled with Curran being in fantastic form as Surrey’s T20 captain, made the logic of leaving him out harder to defend. He was Surrey’s third-highest run scorer (365) and leading wicket taker (21) in that tournament. He then led the men’s Oval Invincibles to their third Hundred title in a row. This undoubtedly showed McCullum exactly why Curran is such a big asset to this England side: he offers left-arm variety, talent with the bat, captaincy instincts and, most important of all, a proven track record of performing under the highest pressure in all conditions around the world.
You want the moonball? Just say the word
His drive and commitment to get back into the white-ball fold was shown over the summer with the development of a moonball (an extremely slow, loopy delivery) to add to his repertoire. His skill-set with both bat and ball was on show in his reintegration into the England set-up on the recent white-ball tour of Sri Lanka. He was particularly influential in their 3–0 series victory, claiming Player of the Series with standout performances: a hat-trick in the rain-affected first match, and in a low-scoring affair in the third and final T20, with England in deep trouble at 47–5, he scored 58 (48) to grind them to 128, a total they then defended.
The bowling attack England have chosen for this World Cup looks broadly similar to the one they picked to tour India at the start of the year; whether they like it or not, those are the options currently at their disposal. However, much like the Test side when Ben Stokes can play a full part, England’s XI is far more balanced with Curran in it — his all-round skill set and, importantly, captaincy nous providing a steadying influence and genuine back-up for Brook. While an experienced cricketer, Brook is still in the infancy of his leadership and is also under intense scrutiny for well-documented off-field issues. Curran rarely has a match where he doesn’t contribute in some way, and that reliability is exactly what successful tournament teams are built on, especially in the pressure cooker of an overseas World Cup.
