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.