Sam Curran's lack of pace

[Saj]

Watching him at the moment barely reaching 80mph.

This might work on seaming tracks and pitches where the ball is moving around, but it seems that he will struggle on surfaces where bowler's are not getting a lot of assistance.

This is what Azhar Mahmood said about him recently to PakPassion "I have great admiration for Sam Curran who I feel has great potential. When he started his stint at Surrey, I played alongside him in a second XI game and I can tell you that he is a player who is always eager to learn. His talent was visible to all when he debuted for England against Pakistan and in the way he played against India at Edgbaston to become the youngest player to get a Man of the Match award for England in Tests. As I explained to Alec Stewart when he asked for my opinion about Sam Curran, I feel that to succeed in international cricket, he needs a to work a bit more on his pace. He bowled around the 85 mph mark in the recent game but if he can up that speed then it will help him immensely in his future games for England. I am sure he is working hard on this aspect of his game and the more cricket he plays at the top-level, his pace will improve. He is only 20 years old at the moment and whilst his current bowling speed is good for bowling in England, he will need to improve that to be a threat to the opposition when he plays away from home in places like Australia".

 

[Varun]

He's only 20.

Might that have something to do with it?

 

[Bhaijaan]

Seems like a young Irfan Pathan. As a batsman though he does look more proper.

 

[aloo paratha]

20 years old, give him some time.

 

[Hasan123]

He can put more pace on but his performances so far have earned him some time and further game time.

 

[Savak]

Lol, as long as he does the job for England in England, he will do just fine. Pace isn't everything as long as you move the ball, know how to get batsmen out and at the end of the day do your job as far as the wickets column is concerned.

In the first game I saw Mitchel Starc is he was around 132-135 km/hr, now look at him in comparison.

 

[Shutdown Corner]

In the first game I saw Mitchel Starc is he was around 132-135 km/hr, now look at him in comparison.

Clearly a speed gun error. I've also seen Shoaib bowl deliveries in the 130s.

Curran at the moment is a one trick pony with the ball: he can swing it with impressive control for a 20 yo. OK maybe thats two tricks. But he has no height (looks to be no taller than 5'10"...but apart from Ishant all the Indian seamers are short as well) and he has no pace.

Curran at this current level will get mauled in the subcontinent and places like AUS and SA. Might be a handful in NZ as his pace is right around Colin de Grandhomme's and he's been successful there.

He is however, a very capable little batter. Has all the potential to average 40+ with the bat especially if he bats down the order. But he looks to have the skills to be middle order batsmen, no less skilled than a Ben Stokes or Andrew Flintoff.

 

[introvert]

He needs add yard of pace like bhuvneshwar Kumar did.

 

[Savak]

Clearly a speed gun error. I've also seen Shoaib bowl deliveries in the 130s.

Curran at the moment is a one trick pony with the ball: he can swing it with impressive control for a 20 yo. OK maybe thats two tricks. But he has no height (looks to be no taller than 5'10"...but apart from Ishant all the Indian seamers are short as well) and he has no pace.

Curran at this current level will get mauled in the subcontinent and places like AUS and SA. Might be a handful in NZ as his pace is right around Colin de Grandhomme's and he's been successful there.

He is however, a very capable little batter. Has all the potential to average 40+ with the bat especially if he bats down the order. But he looks to have the skills to be middle order batsmen, no less skilled than a Ben Stokes or Andrew Flintoff.

Lol People had the same fears about Hoggard but he was England's best bowler in India and Sri Lanka

 

[BunnyRabbit]

lack of pace and height may against him when goes to Australia but apart from that, he can be successful as an allrounder everywhere else. A seaming allrounder who can bat properly doesn't need to have a bowling average of 25 to have a good career.

 

[RickyG]

He's got all the tools to become a genuine all-rounder. Stokes wasn't the quickest when he made his debut and neither was Freddy Flintoff.

If Stokes and Curran both realize their potential, England are going to be really well served for the next 5-8 years. That being said, they could desperately use a batsman. Just a couple of years ago, Root was being acknowledged as the best batsman across all formats. I'm not sure if he's even England's best batsman across all formats now.

 

[gazza619]

We are forgetting that this England team has 5/6 bowlers which includes 4 pacers. Now if one bowls at 80-82 mph and is left handed that is more than useful. If England only had 3 pacers and Sam Curran was the 3rd pacer then I would have had concern.

 

[dildilpak]

Lack of pace & height definitely means that he will be effective in swinging pitches, but will be a trundler in other countries unless he develops variations. A good third or fourth bowling option but he will be invaluable for his batting skills.

 

[Chief Destroyer]

He used to be faster. Around 87mph. County cricket has wore him down.

 

[Gabbar Singh]

He has the body and looks of a 16 year old - I’m sure pace will come as he grows and matures.

 

[Ab Fan]

He can turn out to be Woakes but that means ruthless only at home. Will get runs with both bat and ball in England. Not bad, all teams are HTBs.

 

[Varun]

With pace he can aim to be the new Mitchell Johnson!

 

[Romali_rotti]

Ability wise I see him as an Irfan Pathan can swing with the ball and bat. However his run up is like a left handed version of Matthew Hoggard....

 

[Arham_PakFan]

He will get faster as his body matures and he gains experience.

 

[wrongun]

Australia has had successful medium pace swing bowlers you know- Adam Dale, Terry Alderman are two also without any great height I can think of straight away. You can succeed even in Oz with that style if you are good enough & used smartly.

 

[hadi123]

He will get faster over time. I think he fits in well to this line up being a lefty, as the likes of Anderson and Broad are right handers, he adds a different dimension.

 

[aloo paratha]

Australia has had successful medium pace swing bowlers you know- Adam Dale, Terry Alderman are two also without any great height I can think of straight away. You can succeed even in Oz with that style if you are good enough & used smartly.

That was back when Australian pitches actually had something in them for bowlers. But at the same time I think Curran can still be successful, 135 kph is enough pace if you can move the ball.

 

[MenInG]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">A beauty! &#55357;&#56485;<br><br>Scorecard/Videos: <a href="https://t.co/6erwzLEIKR">https://t.co/6erwzLEIKR</a><br><br>w/ <a href="https://twitter.com/Schroders?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Schroders</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/EngvInd?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#EngvInd</a> <a href="https://t.co/UH3TI0fAfj">pic.twitter.com/UH3TI0fAfj</a></p>— England Cricket (@englandcricket) <a href="https://twitter.com/englandcricket/status/1038449141481988097?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 8, 2018</a></blockquote>
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Some saying Wasim Akramesque!

 

[Shutdown Corner]

He will get faster as his body matures and he gains experience.

He's the same pace he was 2 years ago at the U-19 world cup. Then to add to that England and Australian speed guns tend to give a slightly higher speed reading due to the way speeds are calculated (for example in AUS they the take the highest of 3 readings whereas in other countries they average them or take the middle reading). So 82 mph in England is probably 79 or 80 mph in India.

Curran is a bit taller than I thought. He looks to be 5'10" which puts him the same height as all the Indian seamers except Ishant. But curran looks like he's much shorter, around 5'8" at the most. So I don't see him growing any taller and getting much bigger or stronger.

Mohammad Amir was bowling 140-145 at age 17. How fast is he bowling now? Same speed. Not all bowlers add pace up to age 22.

 

[James]

If he bowls faster in the future then that’s a bonus, but I personally am not that bothered - it is good to have something different in the side, not just the same old fast-medium right-arm over-the-wicket bog-standard “typical English seamer”.

As a medium pace left-armer who can swing the ball both ways, he offers us new angles and strategies. I think he’s an exciting prospect.

Can’t half hold a bat also, which always helps.

 

[the_outsider]

He might struggle with his bowling in Asia and Australia.

I don't think he can be England's 1st/2nd bowler in Asia/Aus after Anderson & Broad retires.

With Stokes in the side England won't need to play a 4th seamer in Asia so he might not even play too many matches outside of England, SA and NZ.

 

[MenInG]

Sam Curran is named England's Man of the Series!