BY SPORTSCAST WRITER
HARARE – (AP) – Zimbabwe have called up Ben Curran, brother of England internationals Sam and Tom Curran, for this month’s one-day series at home to Afghanistan.
Two months ago, the 28-year-old batsman announced his willingness to play for the country, following in the footsteps of his late Zimbabwean-born father Kevin Curran.
“Curran earns his place following stellar performances in domestic cricket,” Zimbabwe Cricket said on Monday.
Ben Curran was born in Northampton when his father, one of Zimbabwe’s best players, was performing on the English county circuit. He later played for Northamptonshire himself before being released in 2022.
His brothers, who were also born outside their father’s homeland, went on to represent England despite all three siblings being raised in Zimbabwe.
Curran is now likely to feature in two Tests against Afghanistan on Boxing Day and in the New Year. The ODI series begins in Harare on December 17.
With Zimbabwe set to tour England for a one-off Test in 2025 brothers could play against each other, though that would require a recall to the Test arena for Sam.
The 26-year-old allrounder has played 24 Tests for England, but the last was in 2021 and he is increasingly regarded as a whiteball player at international level.
Tom Curran, 29, played two Tests in the 2017-18 Ashes but is now primarily a whiteball domestic player, uncapped in any format since 2021. A BBL regular he has joined Melbourne Stars this season after several years with Sydney Thunder.
Kevin Curran died in 2012 aged 53, ten months before Tom became the first of his sons to play first-class cricket.
