Tom and Sam Curran dream of playing for England in Test cricket
Wednesday 15 April 2020 07:01, UK
Tom and Sam Curran have said it is their dream to one day play Test cricket together for England, becoming the first brothers to do so since Adam and Ben Hollioake made their debuts together at Trent Bridge in 1997.
Sam is a regular in the England Test set-up, with 17 caps already to his name, while Tom played twice in the 2017/18 Ashes series but they've yet to play a Test together.
Tom's focus has been primarily on one-day cricket, playing 20 ODIs for England, while he was part of the squad that won the 2019 World Cup on home soil, though he still harbours Test hopes.
"I've only played a couple of Test matches, but I've definitely got huge Test ambitions still," said Tom. "It's a tough one; last year we had the huge build-up to the World Cup and the focus was on white-ball cricket - and rightly so.
"To get back into the Test side without playing domestic red-ball cricket, it's hard.
"Now it's about getting that balance between the two, developing my skills and waiting for my chance.
"It would be amazing to play a Test with Sam. That's definitely a huge ambition of ours."
Sam has made an impressive start to his England Test career, being named man of the series against India in 2018 and scoring three fifties and taking 37 wickets in his 17 Tests so far, at an average of 31.70.
"At the minute, I'm playing in the Tests and he's playing in the one-dayers but the dream is to be all three formats of the game for England together," Sam added.
"We have played a couple of games in the one-day format together. To play for England in general is obviously a great privilege, but playing with your brother makes it an extra special feeling."
The brothers are currently separated, spending lockdown apart during the coronavirus outbreak. They should both be playing in the IPL right now, with Tom part of the Rajasthan Royals squad for 2020 and Sam having joined the Chennai Super Kings.
"It's weird, because you see tweets saying it should be Rajasthan versus Chennai today and there's people posting fake scorecards, things like that, so it does make you miss the game and want to be out there," said Sam.
"I had my mind set on probably three months in the sub-continent. Two Tests in Sri Lanka and then straight to India. It was going to be a massive stint.
"There's a lot of talk about the IPL and possibly scheduling it later in the year. We've just got to keep doing what we're doing and you never know.
"But I am very excited to move franchise. Chennai is a great franchise, with all the big names. I can't wait to play under MS Dhoni. And to hopefully playing against Tom, hit him round the park and knock over his stumps."
As for Tom, while he might not be able to see Sam during lockdown, he has a new pet dog for company.
"He's called Simba. He's half cavapoochon, half lion," joked Tom. "I've had him two or three weeks now.
"He has been good to be fair, but you have to keep your eyes on him.
"I've got some small tennis balls arriving, so we'll get him in the slips and see what he's about."
