For any allrounder, being labelled "adaptable" is to be damned with faint praise. It is a familiar dilemma: their ability to contribute with both bat and ball tends to see them selected more often than if they were specialists, but often finds them shoehorned into roles to which they are poorly suited by teams who use them to balance their side.
It has been the story of Sam Curran 's career as a T20I batter. Across a T20 career spanning nearly 250 matches, Curran has proven that he is a middle-order batter rather than a finisher, who thrives on responsibility and benefits hugely from the chance to get himself set. Yet England's batting riches means he has rarely batted in their top five.
The result is that Curran's T20 batting record for England makes for grim reading: an average of 12.95, and a strike rate of just 118.26. In the Caribbean in December, England promoted him to No. 4 for the first time: he responded with 50 off 32 balls , his maiden half-century in T20Is. He was immediately pushed back down the order, and stayed there.
Across his T20 career, Curran has batted at Nos. 3-5 in 98 innings, averaging 27.90 with a strike rate of 140.43; he has batted at No. 6-10 in a further 93, averaging just 15.98 and striking at 124.97. With England due to announce their white-ball squads for Australia's tour in September on Monday, they face a call on Curran's future: this is the time to back him or sack him.
"He's been so often used out of position in that No. 6 or 7 role," Tom Moody, Curran's coach at Oval Invincibles, said. "Sometimes players like Sam can be plugged as a 'Mr Fix It' because they're good at everything. But if you're chopping and changing that role constantly, you never know where you're sitting… Sam, like all good players, likes responsibility."
In 2015, England dropped Ben Stokes from their World Cup squad after batting him at No. 8 in an ODI series in Sri Lanka; Paul Collingwood likened it to "telling Cristiano Ronaldo to play at right-back". Even if Curran's ceiling as a T20 batter is lower, it has felt like a similar waste for him to be languishing at No. 7 and 8 in a role that doesn't suit him.
Curran was named MVP in the men's Hundred last week, as much for his middle-order batting as his 17 wickets. He batted at No. 3, 4 and 5, generally coming in soon after the powerplay, and showcased his new-found ability to clear the ropes consistently: he hit 17 sixes in the competition, second only to Nicholas Pooran.
"It's just been so fluent, his hitting - but proper batting, as well," Sam Billings, Invincibles' captain, said. "It hasn't been like at No. 6 or 7 - or even when he's batted No. 8 in some teams - when you've just got to come in and slog. It's been incredible hitting, and he's continued his form from the Vitality Blast where he got his first [T20] hundred."
Countless T20 batters are described as "power-hitters"; Moody believes Curran should be categorised as a "power-timer" instead. "Those players can be just as destructive: they just need time, and not to feel like they're being forced to try to hit every ball for six. He's more of a classical timer of the ball, rather than trying to muscle it out of the ground."
Even more so than most athletes, Curran thrives when he feels valued. "I'm really enjoying the roles that I'm playing: I know I can be quite adaptable, but at the same time, I quite like being quite structured," he said during the Hundred. "I don't massively feel like I'm a huge finisher from ball one... When I'm batting well, my bowling takes a lot of confidence."
Curran has proved in his international career that he can be a hugely effective bowler when conditions are in his favour, taking 13 wickets at the 2022 T20 World Cup to be named player of the tournament. But he can struggle at venues with smaller boundaries: with the next T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka, he should be considered as one of six options rather than a guaranteed four-over bowler.
At June's T20 World Cup, England's lack of a frontline left-handed batter was badly exposed, particularly on surfaces that suited spin in the Caribbean. During the Super Eight stage, Moeen Ali was thrown up to No. 3 or 4 in the absence of alternatives, and made 13, 9 and 8 - each off 10 balls - against West Indies, South Africa and India respectively.
At 37, Moeen's international career is likely over and the obvious alternative, Ben Duckett, will not be available against Australia due to the short turnaround from the end of the Sri Lanka Test series. Warwickshire's Jacob Bethell is set to win his maiden international call-up, but is primarily a finisher at No. 6 at this early stage in his promising career.
A bilateral series nearly 18 months out from the next T20 World Cup must be viewed as an opportunity to learn something. In this case, the circumstances are perfect for England to discover whether Curran is a genuine long-term option to bat in their middle order.
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