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Tom Curran aiming to cement England ODI place ahead of next year's World Cup

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Tom Curran speaks with Ian Ward about his hopes for the upcoming ODI series against Sri Lanka, and what the team does during torrential rain

England seamer Tom Curran is aiming to cement his place in the one-day side ahead of next year's World Cup after a frustrating summer batting injury.

Click on the video above to hear from the 23-year-old, who missed out on playing white-ball cricket for England this summer after suffering a side strain on his return from the Indian Premier League.

With just three one-day series remaining ahead of 50-over World Cup in May, Curran's opportunities to impress are limited but after taking a five-wicket haul in just his third ODI for England - against Australia in January - the Surrey bowler is hoping to become a permanent fixture in the team.

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"I came back from the IPL and picked a couple of niggles which put me out of the white-ball summer so it was frustrating," he told Sky Sports.

"You get time to reflect and set goals. The five-wicket haul against Australia, it was a 'right you can do it at this level' moment.

"When you make your debut at this level obviously there are going to be nerves, it's about doing it on this stage.

"Now it's about making it permanent, trying to force my way into the side so that I am one of the first names on the teamsheet.

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Tom Curran of England celebrates a wicket during game five of the One Day International match between Australia and England
Image: Tom Curran took 5-35 against Australia in Perth in January

"It is hard not to look ahead to the World Cup, it is such an exciting period but it is about taking each series as it comes."

Although Curran did not pull on an England shirt this summer his brother, Sam, was named the Test player of the series against India as the 20-year-old impressed on the highest stage.

Tom expressed his pride in watching his sibling go from playing in the garden with him to producing man-of-the-match-worthy performances in a Test match.

England's preparations for the upcoming series against Sri Lanka have seen them battle the weather, with torrential rain seeing their second warm-up match abandoned and extreme heat making bowling in long spells challenging.

Sam Curran celebrates 1 of his 3 wickets on the second day of the 1st Test between England and India.
Image: Sam Curran took 11 wickets and scored 272 runs for England in four Tests against India this summer

But, Curran believes there can be no excuses over the team being under-prepared - with the players having only recently finished off a lengthy summer.

"We have just come off a full summer of playing so it is not like we are short of game time," he said. "We had a couple of net sessions bowling in the heat.

"This is nothing like this [the rain] back home, it is end of the world type rain! There is not much to do, a few boys will go to the gym, a bit of recovery and a bit of Xbox. It's a mixture."

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