Losing father as a teenager was ‘pretty tough’, admits Curran

England’s Sam Curran outlined how the tragedy spurred him to do better in life.

Published : Aug 04, 2018 22:47 IST

Sam Curran (centre) sizzled with bat and ball in England’s victory at Edgbaston.

England will not forget its thousandth Test in a hurry. "Fabulous advert for the game of cricket," said Joe Root afterwards. "Anyone that says it’s dead can just come and watch this on repeat."

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The England captain felt 20-year-old Sam Curran, who was declared the man-of-the-match for his fine all-round effort, had a bit of Ben Stokes in him. "Whenever you watch him operate on the field he has this desire and steeliness within him, similar to Ben. He wants to be involved in the big occasions," he said.

Curran, the son of former Zimbabwe all-rounder Kevin Curran, who passed away in 2012, stated that the loss of his father had made him stronger as a person. "It has been pretty tough," he said.

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"I was still young when it did happen, but I've got a very strong family. Both my older brothers (Tom, who has played Test cricket for England, and Ben, who plays for the Northants 2nd XI) – we're all very close, and my mum's very supportive of all our cricket. I think it made us stronger as a family and me stronger as a person.

"I do take that into my game … I just play naturally, and try to take as many chances as I can. I think I've learned that as I've grown up, with two very competitive brothers in the back-garden cricket … 'Don't give them anything!', and I try to take that on to the pitch," he said.