Sam Curran eager to fill Ben Stokes's shoes in Tests
What's the story
Sam Curran has expressed his desire to fill the void left by Ben Stokes in England's Test cricket team. However, he also stressed that he doesn't want to put any pressure on himself for a comeback. The sudden retirement of Stokes has left England searching for a new captain and a balanced squad for their upcoming series against Pakistan in August. Here's more.
Career update
Curran open to Test return
Curran last played a Test match in 2021, having only represented England in white-ball formats since then. The 28-year-old could be an ideal replacement for Stokes as a seam-bowling all-rounder. Curran told BBC Sport,"Yeah, of course. But it's one of those things where I just want to try to perform my best and whenever the time comes they decide whoever is going to replace Stokesy - playing for England is amazing and I'm a competitive guy." "When I've got a ball or bat in my hand I just try to do my best, so we'll see what happens."
Team strategy
England's Test formation against New Zealand
The absence of Stokes was felt when he missed the second Test against New Zealand after an incident at a London nightclub. In his absence, England opted for an extra specialist batter, dropped spinner Shoaib Bashir, and went with four frontline seamers. This formation could be repeated now that Stokes has retired for good. However, it does leave the team unbalanced as finding an all-rounder would allow for a five-man attack including a spinner.
Replacement talk
'It's something you have to always deal with'
Curran acknowledged the speculation around who will replace Stokes in the squad. "It's something you have to always deal with," he said. "There's no doubt, with Ben Stokes retiring there will be hype around it. At the same time, I'm sure whoever comes in will do their best and try to get the focus on them, rather than on Ben. There's no doubt he will be a big miss for England, and we'll see how it goes," he added.