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.