Watch the second ODI between South Africa and England, live on Sky Sports Cricket from 10.30am on Friday
Friday 7 February 2020 11:26, UK
Tom Curran refused to accept England's confidence had been shaken by a seven-wicket defeat to South Africa in the opening one-day international of their three-match series.
In their first ODI since winning last year's World Cup, a much-changed England line-up from the one that defeated New Zealand in the Lord's final last July were outclassed in Cape Town.
England are expected to keep any changes for the second match of the series to a minimum and Curran is confident they can bounce back in Durham on Friday - although the weather forecast makes for grim reading and may have the final say.
"We've lost games of cricket before and come back to win the series," said Curran. "I don't think it's a massive confidence knock, the boys are going to be training hard ready to try and level the series. I don't think it will have affected anyone too much.
"You don't want to lose a series at any time, but we're taking it one game at a time. We have to win and we will be looking to do that."
England have not lost a bilateral ODI series in three years - when India prevailed 2-1 at the start of 2017 - but this is a squad without the rested Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler and Mark Wood, and the injured Jofra Archer.
Curran, an unused squad member during England's triumphant World Cup campaign, is among those to have benefited from the decision to select a largely second-string side in South Africa, but the seam-bowling all-rounder insists he does not need an extra incentive to succeed.
"I don't necessarily think there's more motivation, you're always motivated," added Curran. "When there are guys missing, there are going to be opportunities and no doubt we'll be looking to take those.
"I didn't play [at the World Cup] but it hasn't changed my mentality going into these games, it was a great experience to be a part of that and, if anything, not playing is a little nudge and a little motivator to be out there at the next one."
Sky Sports' Rob Key sees England sticking with an unchanged side, or close to, for the second ODI in Durban and believes that would be the right call.
"I don't think they'll change too much," said Key. "I don't think Adil Rashid will come in for [Matt] Parkinson the legspinner. I think England want to have a look at these players, get the bench strength up, if you like, and start planning for the future.
"When the T20 series comes around, then a few more of the established players will come back in. That's the way I'd do it as well, actually. You just have to suffer sometimes.
"Those younger players will want to put in a better performance, they will have learnt from that first defeat and England will want to give them another go to show that they have learnt.
"You've still got Joe Root, Eoin Morgan, you've still got probably the best opening partnership in world cricket in Roy and Bairstow. It wasn't actually the inexperience that necessarily cost England in Cape Town, they just didn't play particularly well - they didn't score enough runs - and so they will have to put that right."
In other news England assistant Paul Collingwood missed training ahead of Friday's second ODI because of illness, and his usual duties, among them giving throw downs to batsmen in the nets, were taken up with gusto by Stokes.
The all-rounder is not an official squad member but has stayed on to train ahead of returning for the three T20s that follow the ODI series later this month.
Watch the second ODI between South Africa and England, at Kingsmead, live from 10.30am on Friday on Sky Sports Cricket and Main Event.
