"Strange feeling" coming up against brother Sam, says Tom Curran after IPL clash

NICK FRIEND: After 105 games in senior representative cricket on the same side, this was the first time they had come up against one another on different teams

Tom Curran admitted that going up against brother Sam was a “strange feeling” in their Indian Premier League clash on Tuesday.

The older sibling came out on top, with Rajasthan Royals easing to victory, largely thanks to a remarkable display with the bat against a Chennai Super Kings side that at times appeared shellshocked.

Steve Smith and Sanju Samson both passed fifty, before Jofra Archer struck four sixes in the final over of the innings bowled by Lungi Ngidi, with two of those being no-balls.

Curran described the cameo from his teammate – both at international and franchise level – as “unbelievable striking”, with his unbeaten 27 coming off just eight deliveries.

“It made a huge difference for us,” he added. “There's a big, big difference there if we’d just got 200. Then it's a different game.

“He works hard at his batting and he strikes a clean ball, so it's valuable for teams when guys can come in in the lower order and clear the ropes like that. It was definitely proving a big difference between the two sides last night.”

Curran, too, has improved his batting markedly in recent times. He explained that his two-year stint in the Big Bash with Sydney Sixers had been one “big contributing factor”, having regularly featured in the top seven. In his first year with the franchise, he averaged 30.83, before reprising the role last season and averaging 19, while scoring at a strike rate of 149.43.

“It’s about doing it in the middle, isn’t it,” he said. “I think I’ve been given a bit more of a role there and I’ve been able to do it a few times in the middle, which I guess has helped me. It’s only when you start doing it out in the middle – that’s where it matters.

“If I can keep being given that role at the Sixers and the various other teams, if I get the chance to go up the order, trying to take those chances, to be knocking on the door to try to get up the order – although it is very hard to try to get up the order in our England side.”

^{Tom Curran was expensive at the death, bowling with a wet ball}

In England’s ODI series against Australia earlier in September, he showed the value of those improvements, making 37 in a thrilling, low-scoring victory at Emirates Old Trafford when the hosts had at one stage been reduced to 149 for 8. His knock – assisted by Adil Rashid – dragged them to 231 for 9, a winning total.

He added: “The more I can get into the middle and do it in the middle, that’s going to stand me in good stead.  I think it’s a lot different when you’re coming in right at the end and you have to go from ball one.

“Sometimes, you only have two or three balls. So, that’s helped me a lot and it’s something I’ve really enjoyed about the Sixers – that I’ve been given a much bigger role with the bat.”

Coming in at No.8 against Chennai, Curran faced his younger brother for four balls, laughing in retrospect that he would “have liked to have put him into the stands”. After 105 games in senior representative cricket on the same side, this was the first time they had come up against one another on different teams.

“The last ball I faced, he tried to bounce me actually, which was surprising because he had square leg up,” he reflected. “I wish I’d stood still because I reckon that was my chance to put him into the stands.

“But he was getting his yorkers in, so I tried to put him off and walk down the wicket. It was good fun. We definitely had a laugh about it afterwards.

“We’ve always just played together, haven’t we? Throughout age-group stuff at Surrey, when I started playing for Surrey and Sam came in as the youngster. Obviously, I tried to help him out and he settled in pretty quickly and found his feet, then with the Lions and England.

“We’ve always just tried to help each other out and played with each other. Playing against each other was a strange feeling – it was a different type of concentration really, seeing him running up there were a lot more things on my mind than usual for those first couple, which was strange.”

^{This was the first time that Sam and Tom Curran had ever played against one another}

Sam didn’t face Tom when he batted, striking 17 off just six balls in a pinch-hitting role at No.4, before falling victim to the spin of Rahul Tewatia.

Tom, meanwhile, was taken for three consecutive sixes by MS Dhoni in the final over of a forlorn chase for Chennai, who ended 16 runs short. However, he sought to contextualise the situation, while also explaining some of the additional challenges of bowling the death overs at Sharjah.

“It was frustrating to go for those sixes but, at the same time, with a wet ball like that the main thing was to not bowl a no ball and make sure we win the game,” he explained, having approached the final over with 38 runs to defend.

“If I start going in there trying to bowl yorkers and nail my yorkers and the ball slips out and I bowl a flat one that goes for six, then it just brings them back into the game.

“The pressure isn’t off but it kind of is. It’s nice that we’d won the game but as a bowler to run up there at one of the most destructive batters in the world, it’s not the nicest situation. It’s one of those things really.

“It’s going to be tough for all bowlers bowling there at the death, absolutely. It’s about adapting on the night really and trying to get the job done for the team, which is what we did as an attack last night really nicely as a whole.

“Last night, I think that was as wet as I’ve had to bowl with a ball at the back end. Honestly, it was really damp. It was sweaty as well, so it was challenging. But like I said, all the bowlers are going to be aware of the challenges. It’s about who can adapt and execute in those situations the best that will come out on top.”

Watch the Rajasthan Royals take on Kings XI Punjab in the team’s next Dream11 IPL match on Sky Sports - Sunday 27th September 15:00