Alastair Cook: "Real competitor" Sam Curran proved his worth against West Indies

NICK HOWSON: The former England captain praises the character of the Surrey left-armer, who rebounded from being dispatched by Shai Hope in the first ODI to inspire victory in Antigua

Nick Howson | 07/12/2023 at 01:30

Ex-England captain Sir Alastair Cook has lavished praise on the character shown by Sam Curran in the six-wicket victory in the second one-day international against West Indies in Antigua.

Curran took 3 for 33, claiming each of his scalps in the space of eight balls, as the Windies were reduced to 23 for 4.

It came just three days on from the Surrey left-armer returning figures of 0 for 98 - the worst in an ODI by an Englishman - and being dispatched by matchwinner Shai Hope as the home side romped to victory.

"That (performance) is why the England management and other sides around the world like Sam Curran," Cook, who represented England men 257 times across formats, told TNT Sports.

"He is a real competitor and has the ability to find a solution to a problem. What happened to him a couple of days ago could have killed players in terms of mentally going out to play the next game, people may not recover from that. But he has managed to park it, back himself to deliver again.

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Curran returned to form brilliantly in the second ODI (Ashley Allen/Getty Images)

"International cricket is pretty much played in the head. To deal with that scrutiny he would have experienced for two days, people saying 'What is he doing in the side?' and yet he had to park that and deliver a performance next time and help win the game for England.

He added: "Obviously people will help him but it is down to you. Whatever coaches you've got or people supporting you once you cross that white line and stand at the top of your mark with the ball it is down to you and fronting up to the challenge in front of you.

"Some people embrace that challenge and say they're going to go again and other people may have subconsciously backed away from that challenge because it is an uncomfortable place to be.

"Professional sport is an uncomfortable place to be for long periods of career, there are not many times when it is all free-flowing and normally in a battle you are battling to produce performances like he did today.

"He might have a tough game in the third game but one thing we do know about Sam Curran and why he has played a lot of cricket for England and people want to back him he has that ability to deliver when the pressure is really on."

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Buttler struck 58 in 45 balls to secure victory with 103 deliveries remaining (Ashley Allen/Getty Images)

Having named an unchanged side, Jos Buttler showed his faith in Curran by giving him the new ball and watching him tear through the West Indies top-order. Keacy Carty, Brandon King and Shimron Hetmyer were removed inside seven overs as England laid the foundations for a comfortable victory.

"It was a tough day the other day, but you need to keep moving forward and bounce back," said player of the match Curran at the post-match presentation.

"We did so many things right in that first game. The messages from the coaches and captain was just that. We had to come back today and put things right, which we did."

Buttler struck his first ODI fifty in 15 innings to round off the England chase of 203, passing 5,000 runs in the format in the process.

"I've been playing for a while now so it's great when you get to those milestones after playing for a long period of time," he said. "It's been a frustrating time recently."