Curran hopes bag of tricks will earn him World Cup spot

“It’s about me putting my hand up and performing when I do get given a chance" - Tom Curran is aiming to be in England's World Cup plans

Tom Curran showed he has the nerve to make an impact in international cricket with a decisive penultimate over against New Zealand in the third ODI.

His Wellington figures 0 for 49 from seven overs don’t look particularly pretty on paper, but with Kane Williamson set and the Blackcaps needing 22 from two overs, Eoin Morgan showed a lot of faith in the Surrey man by handing him the ball over Ben Stokes and Mark Wood.

The young bowler’s first delivery was dispatched by the New Zealand skipper to bring up his 11th ODI hundred, at which point lesser men might have crumbled.

But Curran responded with a variety of slower balls, attempted yorkers and a legcutter to restrict the hosts to just three singles from the remaining five deliveries of his over.

Chris Woakes saw out the final over, conceding 10 from it, as England secured a four-run victory to lead the series.

^{Curran held his nerve against Kane Williamson}

Speaking to the ECB, Curran says he is constantly looking to develop his variations: “You have time in training to get a feel for all these different slower balls – and if you don’t try them, you’re not going to learn.”

“It’s a gut instinct, and out there I make a decision and commit to it.

"I’m practising all the time, trying these new ones. There’s obviously the knuckle ball, and there’s other slower balls that are coming out.

“In games at the moment, I’m just using the two. But there’ll be a couple more interesting ones coming out for the season – a work in progress.

“I think you’ve just got to try things. A couple of years ago I just started practising different types of slower balls from the back of the hand, and they seemed to work.

TOM CURRAN | ODI RECORD

Matches: 6

Wickets: 8

Economy: 5.78

BBI: 5 for 35

“A combination of that and the off-cutter seems to be coming off.”

“Getting over the line with the win on Sunday was very satisfying.

“I’ve done it a lot of times in training and I’ve had time to implement it in games at Surrey and a few games for England, so it’s just about going out there and backing myself.

“When it comes off because of the hours you put in practising, it’s very satisfying.

The World Cup in England is fast approaching and Curran says he wants to put himself firmly in the selection picture before then.

“[The World Cup] is 15 months away, so I’ll finish this tour, go back, do my thing for Surrey and hope to give Morgs a tough selection problem. 

“That’s exciting – it’s a great place to be in.

“It’s about me putting my hand up and performing when I do get given a chance.”