Chastening Test for Sam Curran as West Indies punish England | Ali Martin

The all-rounder has been exposed by a selection which has bowled Jimmy Anderson and Ben Stokes into the ground

Sam Curran, seven Tests into his fledgling England career, could have been forgiven for thinking it was all a bit of doddle. Surrey’s 20-year-old all-rounder had tasted only success up to this point, every cap had resulted in victory and either his jail-breaking, lower-order batting or bustling, left-arm swing had contributed along the way.

Three days into his eighth Test match the picture was very different. West Indies have put England through the mangle in Barbados, with the contrastingly built Jason Holder and Shane Dowrich combining for an attack-breaking, seventh-wicket stand of 295 that set their guests a fanciful 628 to win and inflicted some scarring wounds along the way.

Among the most brutal strikes of Holder’s epic 202 not out was the six that took the pair’s vigil into three figures, launching Curran over extra cover and around 20 rows back in the Hewitt and Inniss stand. With roughly 10 inches in height difference between batsman and bowler, it felt like the Caribbean equivalent of the Fast Show’s competitive dad.

This has been a chastening match for Curran the bowler. With a quicker ball that scarcely touches 80mph, he needs the ball to swing. But this in turn requires the right length and that is something he has been unable to locate consistently throughout.

After 29 overs figures of one for 123 represent the first time the tough school of Test cricket hit home.

None of this is to say that England’s crawl towards a 1-0 deficit falls on Curran’s shoulders, rather this talented young cricketer has been a touch exposed by a selection that, given its contrast to the home side’s, looked suspect from the outset. The brains trust seemingly stared too long into the pitch during the build-up, like one of those magic eye posters where everyone agrees they see the same thing despite being privately baffled.

The wrong team can still win a Test, of course, and it is in the batting department where England, blown away for 77 all out on Thursday, will feel most sheepish. Kemar Roach was breathtaking in his five-wicket surge and dovetailed superbly with the rest of the four-man seam attack while the tourists were caught cold in sunny climes.

But for all the issues with the batting – England, with only Joe Root averaging over 40 in the top six, appear determined to lay the table using an array of Swiss army knives – it is with the ball that the balance of a two-spinner, three-seamer attack has been shown up as the product of overthink.

The knock-on effect of Stuart Broad’s omission has not just been the pressure on Curran, nor a West Indies first innings that might have reined in a touch more, but also the additional burden it has placed on Jimmy Anderson and Ben Stokes. With Moeen Ali finding his natural snap elusive and Adil Rashid brutalised by Holder in particular, Root has been forced to bowl the pair into the ground.

When Anderson trudged back after his opening six-over spell on the third morning he understandably resembled C-3PO heading for an oil bath. The 36-year-old may be as fit as a flea but he needs 48 overs in the space of three days, with only a couple of hours watching the batsmen flop, like he needs another tour to Sri Lanka.

Stokes has been ever-willing for his captain as a bowler and a constant threat. But for all the impressive physical work put in since the Bristol incident – the all-rounder has returned doubly determined not to waste his career – his hulking frame cannot be expected to pound in to this degree.

The 27-year-old sent down 50.3 overs in this match, only nine balls shy of his heftiest workload against India at Trent Bridge in 2014. And he has undergone knee surgery during this time.

At the start of an all-important World Cup and Ashes year it is too soon to be flogging two of England’smost precious commodities.

Contributor

Ali Martin at the Kensington Oval

The GuardianTramp

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