England have called up the uncapped seamer Tom Curran to replace Steven Finn, who has limped out of the Ashes tour before bowling a ball. Finn joined England’s lengthening list of fast-bowling absentees after tearing cartilage in his left knee batting in the nets last week, with Curran heading off Liam Plunkett and Tom Helm to replace him.
Finn had only travelled to Australia as a replacement for Ben Stokes but the selection of Surrey’s Curran over the more experienced Plunkett gives England’s bowling reserves a green tinge. Curran, who will fly out on Wednesday evening, bats well and impressed hugely on his international white-ball debut. He will compete with Jake Ball and Craig Overton, who have only three caps between them, for a spot in England’s Test side at the Gabba.
Mark Wood was not considered for selection because he is not fully fit, although he is bowling quickly at Loughborough with England Lions, with whom he will fly to Australia next week. Also injured are Toby Roland-Jones and Jamie Porter, the uncapped Essex seamer who took 75 championship wickets in the summer.
Curran and Overton will be encouraged by Trevor Bayliss’s readiness to hand a debut to Mason Crane, the 20-year-old leg-spinner, during the series should Moeen Ali be another injury absentee.
Crane has a first-class average above 42 but impressed with two wickets in England’s opening match in Perth and finds himself with another opportunity against a Cricket Australia XI in Adelaide, the opening first-class match of the tour as Moeen recovers from a side injury.
Bayliss believes Moeen “probably could have played this week” but had been held back as a precaution, until he is completely ready with a view to returning in time to play in Townsville next week.
“I wouldn’t have any problems at all playing Crane in the Test matches,” Bayliss said. “He’s young but he’s feisty and likes to get into the contest. He’s inexperienced and still has a fair bit to learn. One of those reasons he’s on this tour is that we think he’ll be a very good bowler in years to come. He’s got to start somewhere and if it’s here during the Ashes then so be it.”
The England coach also explained why Crane was preferred to Adil Rashid, who averages 43 in 10 Tests. Rashid was left at home for temperamental not technical reasons but has a Test future.
“We have spoken to Rash,” he said. “The captain was looking for someone in Test cricket that could get in the battle. He’s an attacking style bowler, like Mo. So the captain wanted someone who could maybe keep it tight at one end as well, not giving one or two bad balls an over, you have to try to keep a lid on it at times. Rash struggled a little bit with that. Rash has not been forgotten about. He is in contention if he is bowling well and deserves a spot.”
Delighted for TC on his call up to test squad but England are definitely lacking experience in the bowling department. 🤔
— Chris Tremlett (@ChrisTremlett33) November 7, 2017
Things look considerably rosier among Australia’s bowling stocks, after Mitchell Starc spent his final match before the Ashes doing what no bowler has done for 39 years: taking two hat-tricks in the same first-class game. Starc, playing for New South Wales, cleaned up Western Australia’s final three wickets in successive balls in each innings, with the second securing a 171-run win. He is the eighth player to achieve the feat, and the first in Australia. Last week, Starc took a first-class best of eight for 73 against South Australia.
England team for day/night match at the Adelaide Oval: Cook, Stoneman, Vince, Root (capt), Malan, Bairstow (wkt), Woakes, Overton, Ball, Crane, Anderson.
