Gareth Batty column: Battle of the Curran brothers can only benefit Surrey

Sam and Tom Curran celebrate with the trophy after winning of the Division 2 LV County Championship
Tony Marshall/Getty Images
Gareth Batty22 April 2016

Anyone who has a brother knows the feeling: you want to beat him at everything. It’s a rivalry that can work both ways but thankfully for Surrey, the competitive streak that exists between Tom and Sam Curran can drive both them and the team to new heights.

They’re very close in age so they want to outdo each other in every aspect — runs, wickets, performances. It’s a healthy battle and it can only benefit the team — and they have a great rapport off the field. Tom keeps an eye out for Sam and Sam hangs on his every word.

Tom, the elder of the two at 21, had a wonderful season last year. If you’re leading the bowling attack for Surrey at that age, it suggests you’re going to be special. He picked up where he left off in our opening game at Nottinghamshire, taking four for 58 in the second innings, which was nearly good enough to win the game for us.

He is working very hard to make sure he is not regarded only as a bowler. He wants to be an all-rounder and that is why he batted at No8 at Trent Bridge. I hope he wants to push further up the order.

Sam does not turn 18 until June 3 but he appears older than his years. Like Tom, he has aspirations to be an all-rounder but at this stage I believe Sam will be a batting all-rounder and Tom a bowling all-rounder.

Virtually every all-rounder who has played the game has one suit that is stronger than the other. One skill is the bread and butter. Sir Ian Botham was an outstanding Test batsman, with 14 hundreds and 22 fifties in his 102 appearances. But his bowling was perhaps even better, with his 383 wickets — at 28 apiece — the most by an England player until Jimmy Anderson went past his record.

Few will match those achievements and at Surrey we are just excited to see the Currans develop. Hopefully they can contribute to a fine season for us. On Sunday we start our first home game of the season in the Championship, against Somerset, and after our narrow defeat at Notts it is important for us to pick up the winning habit quickly.

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