Matthew Mott: "There's no ceiling for Sam Curran, he's a great player"

GEORGE DOBELL IN MELBOURNE: England's white-ball head coach also paid tribute to Reece Topley, Curran's fellow left-armer, who missed the tournament after tripping on a boundary marker and suffering a freak ankle injury

Sam Curran can be remembered as "one of the white-ball greats", according to England coach, Matthew Mott.

Curran was named player of the match and player of the tournament after another impressive display with the ball in the T20 World Cup final in Melbourne on Sunday. He finished with 13 wickets in the tournament - only Sri Lanka's Wanindu Hasaranga claimed more and he played two more games - at the remarkable cost of just 11.38 apiece. And despite bowling at the death, his economy-rate was an impressive 6.52 runs per over.

It would have been a hugely impressive performance from any player. But for a 24-year-old who might not have been involved if England were at full strength, it was "amazing", in Mott's words.

"He's been amazing," Mott said. "He got left out of a couple of games in the English summer and I remember having some conversations with him about that stuff. And he was so determined to play.

"He's one of those guys that even in the nets when you throw balls to him, he wants a contest. When the pressure is on, he just wants the ball in his hand or he wants the bat in his hand and he wants to try and win the game for his country.

"Some of the overs he's bowled - pressure overs - have been ridiculous. They've gone for five or six runs, when they could have gone for 14 or 15. And they've actually turned the tide of games. And aside from all the cricket stuff, his character around the group, his belief in the other players it's really infectious as well.

"There's no ceiling for him. He's a great player. I think his batting has got more in it as well. I think he's one of the sweetest timers of the ball we've got and he's obviously a gun in the field as well. He's been special."

^{Mott with fellow Australian Michael Hussey, who joined England's coaching staff for the tournament (Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)}

Mott also revealed that Curran was responsible for his new haircut, though he did promise revenge.

"I made a silly comment to Sam Curran," Mott said with a smile. "He was having a go at my lack of hair at one stage and I said: 'If we win the World Cup, you can take it off.'

"He got me and held me true but the good thing about it is I get to dye his hair whatever colour I like. I'm still choosing at the moment."

Mott also had warm words for Reece Topley. Topley had battled back from a series of injuries to win a place in the squad and was set to fulfil a key role with the ball. But a freak accident in fielding practice a few days before the start of the tournament caused ligament damage and ruled him out of contention.

"I feel for the players who missed out," Mott said. "Particularly Reece Topley. He was going to play such a role in this tournament. We had him earmarked for some some big overs. He was hurting when he left. I must admit, he was one of the first blokes I thought of when we won. Jonny Bairstow, too.

"I'll tell you now: Reece Topley was a big part of our preparation for here. I thought he was the outstanding bowler of the summer. I was absolutely gutted for him. It seemed like such an innocuous injury. It's hard for them when they prepare so much and then miss the opportunity. It's heartbreaking. These chances don't come round that often.

"Seeing him leave our group was hard. You see someone who has put so much in. I think he made some really brave decisions around his preparation for this and making sure England was his priority."

_{Reece Topley was ruled out the competition shortly before the start in unfortunate circumstances (Trevor Collens/AFP via Getty Images)}

Mott did have reassuring words for the future, though. And he expressed some optimism that Topley, who wasn't obliged to undergo surgery, would receive a winner's medal like every other member of the England squad.

"He's going to play a massive role in the next couple of years," Mott said. "He's a great bowler and a great person for this group. There's so much to look forward to over the next 12 months.

"India is our next project now and we don't play a heap of cricket before then, either. So being in touch with those players, seeing how they're going in their domestic teams is going to be really important. There's a lot to play for."

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