Sam Curran offers a notable counterpoint during a county pre-season in which the treatment of players discarded by England has become a hot topic.
This month, both Liam Livingstone and Jonny Bairstow have accused a regime fronted by director of cricket Rob Key and head coach Brendon McCullum of a lack of care.
But, after being axed 13 months ago ahead of the Champions Trophy, Surrey all-rounder Curran made a bold move, calling for a meeting with McCullum.
‘I guess it’s just one of those things. I was out the team and just kind of asked what I needed to do,’ Curran tells Daily Mail Sport.
‘Just had a little coffee with Baz and he just kind of said: mate, go score some runs and take some wickets.
‘It was a nice, honest conversation, and when I did get back in, it was because I’d done exactly what he said. I look back on it as positive. I’m a very competitive guy and I kind of just tried my best.’
Since being recalled last September, Curran, 27, top scored three times in seven Twenty20 internationals in one winter sequence and averted a giantkilling by Nepal by closing out a last-ball World Cup victory in Mumbai.
He is currently sidelined with a groin injury ‘which is not so little now,’ after battling it throughout England’s passage to the semi-finals of that competition, ruling him out of an Indian Premier League season with Rajasthan Royals as a result.
‘Scans showed some damage, which I obviously need to try to get sorted before coming back to playing. I am gutted that I can’t go back to the IPL, but if I kept going, it’d probably just get even worse.’
Others have either pulled out of the IPL to prioritise England commitments in the case of Ben Duckett, turned down the chance to enter as replacement players in the case of Jamie Smith or in the case of Josh Tongue been blocked from signing for two franchises by the ECB.
They all hope to feature in the Test series against New Zealand in June, the month in which Curran is targeting two County Championship fixtures for Surrey.
It is five years since he won the last of his 24 caps, but Curran says he is yet to give up on adding to them: ‘I love playing cricket, so I guess whatever the format is, I’ll be well up for it.’
Curran spent Saturday volunteering at St Albans, acknowledging the importance of people mucking in at recreational clubs.
‘It’s very cold and still does not feel like cricket season, but it’s great to see all the local people and I’ve been helping put up some sight screens,’ he says.
‘I can’t really remember doing that at my club Weybridge. I was probably whining about someone not throwing balls down. But here I was definitely getting my hands dirty, enjoying a different experience.’
Sam Curran was speaking at St Albans Cricket Club for Get Set Weekend 2026, powered by Toyota, joining more than 39,500 volunteers nationwide helping to reconnect their communities and get over 1,800 club grounds ready for the new season.
