All-rounder Curran brings stuttering England to life at the death

KOLKATA, FEB 19: England face co-hosts Sri Lanka in the Super Eights on Sunday, but without Sam Curran, Harry Brook's side may well have been on the plane home.

The all-rounder has stood up and proved himself the man for a crisis, delivering match-winning late "death" overs against associate nations Nepal and Italy to stave off embarrassing defeats.

Nepal, ranked 16th, were chasing 184 to pull off one of the all-time upsets and needed just 10 off the final over.

Left-arm swing bowler Curran kept them to just five under extreme pressure in front of a hostile pro-Nepal crowd at a packed Wankhede stadium in Mumbai.

"I said to Brookie: 'I'm backing six yorkers here, and I'll take the hit if I don't execute'," said Curran.

"I think you've got to think like that.

"I've played a lot of T20 cricket. When you win the close ones they're actually the ones that give you a little boost and a bit of a smile on your face."

Captain Brook said the "unbelievable" Curran was his go-to guy at the death and a cool character.

"We were both fairly calm out there. He knew exactly what he was going to try and do, and he executed outstandingly," said Brook.

England all-rounder Will Jacks said: "Sam's won us that game. It was ebbs and flows the whole way.

"I thought it was almost lost with six balls to go."

Then 27th-ranked Italy, in their first World Cup, needed 30 from the last two overs in Kolkata on Monday for a giant-killing that could have left England's World Cup hopes hanging by a thread.

Up stepped Curran again, bowling a masterful 19th over to snuff out Italian hopes.

He tied down the big-hitting Grant Stewart before removing him crucially for 45 and again conceded only five runs. His heroics made the 24-run victory sound more comfortable than it was.    �"AFP