All-rounder Sam Curran has pretty much been the reason behind England's qualification into the Super 8s.
The way England are playing their cricket in the T20 World Cup 2026 can be summarized into two parts. One, starting off extremely jittery and ending up on the right side of the result. And two, repeating that in three games out of four. And in all those four games, there has been one name which had displayed nerves of steel – Samuel Matthew Curran!
Every single time the Three Lions had their back against the wall, Sam Curran has put his hand up and plucked results out of thin air. Even though England lost the battle against the West Indies in Mumbai, the left-handed all-rounder fought his way to a stellar 30-ball 43*.
Be it with the bat or the ball, Sam Curran has made merry for England when no one has been able to. The Harry Brook-led side almost stumbled against Nepal in their opener of the T20 World Cup in Mumbai. With just 10 runs required off the last over, it was Curran who came to England’s rescue. Had that not been the case, there would not have been a ‘Q’ in front of their name.
In the match against Italy – where winning was a must in order to secure a qualification berth, it was Curran who came to England’s rescue. Ben Manenti had almost given England a scare, just like Nepal after the Three Lions posted 202/7 in the 20 overs. With no other bowlers working for the 2022 T20 World Cup champions, it has been Sam Curran all the way!
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One look at Sam Curran’s T20I bowling stats, and we would be questioning the fact that he can single-handedly take England to the Super 8s in an ICC major. Except the fact that he has! That being said, cricket is a game which breeds on individual brilliance, but needs multiple players to step up at different intervals of the game. England have had players stepping up – but Sam Curran just hasn’t sat down at all, and that has been the difference.
Here’s another catch! If we simply go by the numbers that Sam Curran has displayed in the tournament, they do come across as average ones. For example, he registered figures of 1/27 against Nepal in his four overs. But here’s why context is supremely important in the game. He bowled the last over, when 10 runs were required, and more than 17,000 spectators in the stadium thought that Nepal would get there.
What followed? Pin-point yorkers. One after the other. Despite Lokesh Bam’s brilliance, the Englishmen prevailed, winning the fixture by just four runs. He did something very similar against Italy, when the game went all down to the wire till the last over. His second-last over could produce only seven runs, when the required rate was around the 15-run mark.
What has impressed the most in Sam Curran’s bowling is his will to ace the yorkers. On the other hand, Jofra Archer, who is England’s premier pacer has been all over the deck and has been taken for runs. Curran has been valuable with the bat in hand too. In four matches, the all-rounder has also registered 98 runs with a valuable unbeaten 43.
And the best part it, he will only soar higher in the games to come.
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