Ashes 2019 | Sam Curran is an impact player when he is on song, says Alec Stewart
Alec Stewart has hailed Sam Curran as an impact player when he gets into his rhythm after his three-fer helped England edge ahead of Australia in the fifth Test. Curran, playing in his first Test of the series, supported Jofra Archer's 6-62 as England took a 69-run first-innings lead.
Although Archer was the star from the first innings at The Oval, Curran’s addition into the bowling attack paid rich dividends as the ball got old. After Archer removed both the openers early, Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith eased into the innings and threatened to bat for long. Root brought Curran back into the attack around the 30th over and the 21-year-old immediately started to reverse the ball both ways.
"When he gets in a rhythm, swinging the ball both ways, he can really impact the game. That was the best he has bowled for England. He stuck to his lines and lengths very well, the best he has done for some time," Stewart told Test Match Special.
The man of the series for his performances against India last year – his first summer in international cricket – Curran was left out of the Ashes squad because of his poor form in other formats leading up to the series. However, the Surrey man was recalled on his home ground after fellow all-rounder Ben Stokes was deemed unfit to bowl because of a shoulder injury. The youngster did show some nerves with the bat on Thursday but bowled superbly in tandem with Archer the next day.
"Sam's batting was frenetic yesterday and it showed a bit of nerves and how difficult it is coming in against this Australia pace attack having been out of international cricket for a while. With the ball, he wants to take a wicket every ball and we keep telling him you can't do that, you have to set the batsman up. That spell he bowled with Jofra Archer was exceptional," Stewart said.
Meanwhile, Curran himself admitted that his absence from the England side during the Ashes had been "frustrating", but that he was only too happy to make his comeback on his home ground.
"To play here is really special and getting some wickets for the team is the main thing. It's really nice to be playing again. I just had to wait my turn and luckily it came. Stewie is one of my great heroes. I saw him this morning and had some banter about getting some gates named after me. It was all good fun. I am nowhere near Stewie's level. Maybe one day," Curran said.
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