Sam Curran

Sam Curran made amends after being thumped for 30 in an over, hit for four sixes and a four by Windies captain Rovman Powell, with 50 off 32 balls, having been elevated to number four in the batting order.

While there were several cameos, Curran lacked support as England fell 10 runs short of overhauling their opponents’ 176 for seven to fall 2-0 down in the five-match series after losing the ODIs 2-1.

The tourists struggled against left-arm spinners Gudakesh Motie and Akeal Hosein, who leaked a combined 33 in eight overs. Motie was especially successful, taking 4-0-9-1 on a tricky pitch to bat on.

“No one likes losing,” said Mott. “We played good cricket again for 90 per cent of the match. We had them under control up to the 15th-over mark and unfortunately, as West Indies can do, they hurt us.

“We fought back at the back end to keep them to 176 which was definitely chase-able. It’s light and shade with our batting, there’s some really good things happening but probably just too many dot balls.

“We have to respond from this. We will try to come up with more solutions. We are trying hard, we are close. We are a couple of good hits away from a win.

“The message in the changing room is that we are not far away. We just have to stay the course. We’ve got to win one first. That’s our first target.”

Curran averaged 11 from 26 previous T20 innings, albeit having only once before batted in the top five, but he has three Test fifties and sparkled with an unbeaten 95 in an ODI against India in 2021.

It was still a surprise to see him stride out after Phil Salt was England’s second batter dismissed, with Liam Livingstone, Harry Brook and Moeen Ali each nudged down one position.

Curran, though, was the pick of the batters and uncorked seven boundaries – including three sixes – and Mott revealed his promotion was down to how they thought he would fare against Hosein and Motie.

“He didn’t seem to get a heap of strike, it’s funny how it works out and he ended up taking down the medium-pacers,” said Mott, who added it was a “50-50 call” about whether to elevate Curran or Moeen.

“We just thought Sam was the one to try and really disrupt and get a free licence to go and go hard. He did it, not in the fashion we were expecting but he certainly did his job.

“We’ve always rated his batting and he’s been in some strong teams, as he showed. When he gets an opportunity, he’s a class player. He’s worked really hard on facing fast bowling.

“He’s got a great all-round game. We know he can hurt the spinners a lot but there’s certainly more layers to his batting which is exciting for the future. It was unfortunate he got out when he did.”

The Windies belted 13 sixes to England’s eight, with opener Brandon King and Powell sharing five apiece. King anchored the Windies innings with 82 off 52 balls and Powell registered 50 off 28.

Assessing Curran’s more ignominious offering on Thursday, Mott added: “When they line you up, it’s a tough place to be.

“Every time you clear the rope it’s a big win, particularly early in an over. It’s something we have spoken about and we have got some really good six hitters ourselves.”

Powell was on a run-a-ball 22 at the start of the 16th over having been kept quiet by Adil Rashid, who took 4-0-11-2, but followed up a streaky inside edge off Curran with some monstrous hits.

Jacqueline Williams, who became the first female umpire from the Caribbean to stand in a men’s T20 international, raised her arms skywards on four occasions before Powell ended the over by holing out.

“It definitely changed the game,” Powell reflected. “As a batter you sometimes look for that over.

“After being pegged down by the leg-spinners and then the pacer comes on, you think ‘maybe this is the opportunity to cash in’.”

Holding a 2-0 lead in this five-match series, the Windies were full of confidence and cleared the rope on 16 occasions in Grenada, taking their tally across the three matches to 43 sixes.

Captain Rovman Powell belted 39 off 21 deliveries while Sherfane Rutherford marked his first appearance of the series with 29 off 17 as the Windies pressed the accelerator to add 79 in the last four overs.

Not even Adil Rashid was exempt from the carnage as he leaked 15 in his final offering, albeit having Pooran caught in the deep to finish with two for 32.

Reece Topley was magnificent up top in his first match back since a broken finger ended his World Cup early, taking one for 14 in three overs in the powerplay but he conceded 18 after being given the 20th.

Topley and Gus Atkinson were given their first outings as England shuffled their bowlers, with Chris Woakes and Rehan Ahmed left out, but it was a mixed bag from the tourists after winning the toss.

Rashid, Topley and Moeen Ali escaped most of the damage but Tymal Mills went for 25 in the 17th over and Sam Curran 21 in the 19th – although he did claim a couple of wickets two days on from being belted for 30 in five legal deliveries.

Pooran steadied the Windies after they lost both openers by the second over then upped the ante after reaching a 37-ball fifty, taking 29 off his next eight deliveries before holing out off Rashid.

Meanwhile, Jason Holder went to Rajasthan Royals and Odean Smith went to Gujarat Titans.

Chennai Super Kings, Mumbai Indians, Lucknow Super Giants and Rajasthan Royals all got involved in the bidding for Curran, forcing the price up, before Punjab won out.

Curran was outstanding in the T20 World Cup, taking 13 wickets – including 3-12 against Pakistan in the final last month.

There was a clamour for top-tier all-rounders, with Mumbai Indians landing Australia's Cameroon Green for 17.5 crore (£1.75million), 

England Test captain Ben Stokes was wanted by Sunrisers Hyderabad and Lucknow, but it was Chennai who got him for 16.25 crore (£1.65million).

That fee for Stokes matched the previous record for an IPL player, set when Rajasthan signed Chris Morris ahead of the 2021 competition.

New Zealand white-ball skipper Kane Williamson had been the first player available in the auction and went for a bargain 2 crore (£200,000), before a bidding war broke out for England's Harry Brook.

Rajasthan were edged out as he went to Sunrisers for 13.25 crore (£1.325million), the highest price ever paid in an Indian Premier League auction for a specialist batter before Pooran went under the hammer.

Harpreet Singh Bhatia and Sam Curran's 92-run partnership set the Kings on their way to setting a target of 215, which Mumbai briefly looked like they could knock off until Arshdeep Singh's supreme final over.

After hitting Cameron Green for four in the third over, Punjab opener Matthew Short (11) went after his fellow Australian again next ball and ended up finding only the safe hands of Piyush Chawla (2-15).

Prabhsimran Singh was going well before a swinging yorker from Arjun Tendulkar trapped him lbw for 26, while Chawla claimed both Liam Livingstone (10) and Atharva Taide (29).

The Kings' run rate slowed right down after that flurry of wickets, but Bhatia (41) and captain Curran (55) steadied the ship before stepping on the accelerator in the 16th over, hitting 31 runs from it, and a further 26 from the next nine deliveries before Bhatia played a Green ball onto his own stumps.

Curran reached his half-century before falling to England team-mate Jofra Archer (1-42), though Jitesh Sharma arrived and shone brightly but briefly as he hit 25 from just seven balls, before being bowled by Jason Behrendorff in the final over as the Kings finished on 214-8.

Ishan Kishan (1) fell early in reply, but Rohit Sharma and Green put on a partnership of 76 to take a chunk out of the imposing target.

Livingstone eventually removed Rohit for 44, caught and bowled from a sloppy shot, but Suryakumar Yadav picked up where his captain left off with a fiery innings.

Green smashed 67 from 43 balls before a slower delivery from Nathan Ellis saw him find the safe hands of Curran, but Suryakumar kept going, reaching his 50 from just 23 balls, though after getting his team back in the game, he was gone after hitting Arshdeep (4-29) straight to Taide for 57.

Tim David (25 from 13) forced a reachable final over chase, with Mumbai needing 16, but a superb six balls from Arshdeep, including two more wickets, ended any hopes as they could only manage 201-6.

Curran and Bhatia lay the table for success

It was very smart play by Curran and Bhatia to lay a calm foundation before piling on the runs, with their 92-run partnership the second-highest for the fifth wicket by a Kings duo in IPL history.

Punjab scored 96 runs off their last five overs, with only Royal Challengers Bangalore having struck more in the last five overs of an innings in IPL history (112 vs Gujarat Lions, May 2016).

Rohit reaches 250

It was a noble effort from Mumbai Indians as they chased a big target, with Green and Suryakumar making impressive contributions, though it was Rohit who achieved a notable landmark.

He became just the third batter and first Indian to reach 250 sixes in the IPL after Chris Gayle (357) and AB de Villiers (251). He is also just one maximum away from becoming just the second player to reach 200 maximums for Mumbai in the competition after Kieron Pollard (223).

Chasing 203, Will Jacks put England into the ascendancy with a sparkling 73 off 72 balls, including four sixes and six fours, but his downfall left the tourists wobbling on 116 for four in the 20th over.

Buttler, who had been averaging 14.1 since the start of a miserable World Cup for himself and his team, gradually bloomed and his unbeaten 58 off 45 deliveries – his first fifty in 14 ODIs – sealed England’s six-wicket win.

Harry Brook finished on 43 not out as England prevailed with 17.1 overs to spare although the architect of them ensuring a decider in Barbados on Saturday was Curran, who took three for 33 in seven overs.

Having recorded the most expensive figures by an England bowler in Sunday’s four-wicket defeat, leaking 98 runs in 9.5 overs, the left-arm seamer snared top-order trio Keacy Carty, Brandon King and Shimron Hetmyer.

After the Windies lurched to 23 for four, captain Shai Hope did his bit for nominative determinism, following up his match-winning ton a few days ago with a run-a-ball 68 and rookie Sherfane Rutherford chipped in with 63 before the pair were dismissed by Liam Livingstone, who took three for 39.

Curran was initially wayward again and belted for three fours by King but an opening stand that put on 104 on Sunday was snuffed out for 15 here after Gus Atkinson scythed through Alick Athanaze, with England’s review for caught behind showing a big snick on UltraEdge.

Curran’s fortunes shifted as angled deliveries took the edges of Carty and King to Zak Crawley before Hetmyer was rapped on the back pad by a fuller ball. The not-out verdict was overturned after Ben Duckett seemed to persuade Buttler into sending the decision upstairs.

Curran’s three wickets in eight balls left Hope and Rutherford, in his second ODI, with a mountainous rebuild. A 129-run stand followed as smoke from the barbecue vendors beyond the stands occasionally drifted across the ground, Hope settling with three straight driven fours in an Atkinson over.

Brydon Carse was taken the distance by Hope as the partnership grew, with both Windies batters going past fifties, Rutherford doing so with a mighty heave off the otherwise parsimonious Rehan Ahmed.

Having been held back until the 26th over, Livingstone broke the union when Rutherford drove loosely to Phil Salt in the ring while Yannic Cariah was castled through the gate by a floaty off-spinner.

Livingstone had the big fish with a precision piece of bowling, his leg-spinner leaving Hope in two minds, missing an indeterminate prod and his off-stump as a consequence.

Livingstone’s figures were dented by Romario Shepherd’s four fours in an over but the Windies subsided after he holed out to Rehan, whose figures of 10-1-40-2 were identical to what he recorded on Sunday.

Despite tricky conditions, Salt and Jacks were authoritative from the off, evoking the spirit of predecessors Jason Roy and first Alex Hales then Jonny Bairstow.

The pair rode their luck, edging wide of slip off Alzarri Joseph before Salt’s luck ran out on 21, bowled by Shepherd, after a 50-run stand.

The early battle between Joseph and Jacks was worth the entry fee alone. A rising snorter took Jacks’ glove and ballooned over Hope but the opener responded by hammering over backward square-leg and then repeated the trick off Shepherd. Jacks then smeared Oshane Thomas over backward point for a third six.

Crawley chopped on off Gudakesh Motie, who found the glove when Duckett went for a customary sweep before Brook edged agonisingly short of slip from his first ball as tension crept in.

Nerves may have been jangling when Jacks was lbw to one that kept low from Rutherford, bringing out Buttler, who had been dismissed for single figures in five of his previous eight innings.

He made a cagey start and was beaten twice on the outside edge by leg-spinner Cariah but he steadily grew in confidence alongside Brook.

A whipped four off Joseph was followed by a skip down the track and thump for back-to-back sixes off Cariah as Buttler started to find some rhythm.

The second of those monstrous blows was measured at 94 metres before another mighty mow off Thomas brought up a 43-ball half-century. Buttler took 16 off that Thomas over to level the scores.

It was left to Brook to get over the line and he did so by sweeping Motie behind square for four in the 33rd over.

The visitors posted 195 for nine after losing the toss, Will Jacks smashing 60 off 43 balls and Chris Jordan a blistering 36 not out off just 12.

In reply, Somerset were restricted to 167 for nine, Tom Banton top scoring with 53 and Tom Abell making 39. Curran – who has been made an MBE in the King’s Birthday Honours list – finished with five for 26 as Surrey replaced their opponents in top spot.

Kent scored a record Lord’s T20 total as they beat Middlesex by 13 runs, despite a magnificent century from Max Holden.

Holden led his side’s assault on an improbable target of 229 with a career-best T20 knock of 121 not out from 59 balls to maintain the Seaxes’ hopes of finally breaking their duck in the tournament after eight defeats.

But Kent held on for their second successive win, having posted 228 for three thanks to Daniel Bell-Drummond, who struck 66 from 42 before Joe Denly savaged his former side’s ragged bowling attack with an unbeaten 73 from 37.

Essex made it four wins in a row by beating Glamorgan by four wickets, with academy graduate Feroze Khushi hitting a half-century.

Khushi crashed a 37-ball 61 as Essex comfortably chased down 175, despite losing three early wickets thanks to Jamie McIlroy’s four for 36.

Paul Walter contributed 43, before Daniel Sams (41) and Matt Critchley (16 not out) saw off most the remaining runs with 24 balls to spare.

Oli Carter and Brad Currie were the heroes as Sussex upset defending champions Hampshire at Hove to claim only their third win of the season.

Carter’s 64 helped Sussex to 183 for six, which did not look enough in quick-scoring conditions.

Hampshire subsequently slumped to 24 for four and although Liam Dawson made 59 off 34 balls, Sussex won by six runs, with debutant Currie having taken three wickets as well as producing a stunning catch.

Birmingham Bears moved to the top of the North Group after triumphing by 21 runs in their derby clash against Worcestershire at New Road.

Late hitting from Dan Mousley (49 not out) and Jacob Bethell (32 not out) helped set a challenging target as the visitors reached 196 for five.

Worcestershire captain Brett D’Oliveira then struck his first T20 half century of the season, top scoring with exactly 50, but his side struggled to break free from the Bears’ spinners and finished on 175 for six for a fourth successive loss.

Dawid Malan’s fifth half-century of this competition – a superb 79 off 45 balls – helped Yorkshire to a record-equalling sixth straight T20 win as they chased 196 to beat Leicestershire by eight wickets at Headingley.

Louis Kimber had bludgeoned a career-best unbeaten 59 off 38 to power the Foxes to 195 for five after a mixed start to the innings.

But he was on the losing side as Malan united with Adam Lyth (90 not out), the left-handers sharing a superb club-record opening stand of 158 in 14 overs.

Steven Croft smashed his maiden Blast century to power Lancashire to an imposing 204 for seven and set up a 35-run victory over Northamptonshire at Wantage Road.

Croft clubbed seven sixes and five fours in his 101 and shared a 146-run partnership in 12 overs with Daryl Mitchell (48).

Luke Wood then took three for 39 as the Steelbacks – for whom Tom Taylor and AJ Tye posted 40 and 35 respectively – fell to their sixth defeat of the campaign.

Durham and Derbyshire played out a thrilling tie at Seat Unique Riverside after Falcons batter Haider Ali hit the final ball of the innings for four to earn his team a share of the spoils.

Brydon Carse top scored for Durham with 58 as they posted 178 from their 20 overs. Luis Reece then hit 58 from 47 balls in Derbyshire’s reply, but the home side dragged it back to set up a tense finale as Wayne Parnell claimed three wickets.

Haider then held his nerve from the last ball, finding the boundary on the leg-side to claim a valuable point for his team.

Three days on from being belted for 98 in 9.5 overs – the most expensive ODI figures by an England bowler – Curran snared top-order trio Brandon King, Keacy Carty and Shimron Hetmyer.

Windies captain Shai Hope did his bit for nominative determinism after his side had slipped to 23 for four, following up his match-winning hundred in the series opener with a crucial 68 at the same venue.

Hope put on 129 in 138 balls with Sherfane Rutherford but Liam Livingstone took out both en route to figures of 6-0-39-3 to make sure Curran’s three for 33 were not wasted on a fresh strip.

The England all-rounders endured a poor World Cup, with Livingstone averaging 10 with the bat while Curran was dropped after three anonymous performances and his woes followed him to the Caribbean.

But England persisted with the pair and named an unchanged side from the one beaten by four wickets on Sunday, and were rewarded as they look to take this series to a decider in Barbados on Saturday.

Curran was driven for fours in each of his first three overs by King but Gus Atkinson made the breakthrough by jagging one back through Alick Athanaze. It appeared the ball missed everything en route to a diving Jos Buttler but England’s review was vindicated by a snick on UltraEdge.

A partnership that put on 104 at the weekend was snuffed out for 15 and it got better for England as Carty aimed a cross-batted shot at Curran only to top-edge through to Zak Crawley at slip.

The duo combined again as Curran gained revenge over King following an indeterminate push while the left-arm seamer had big-hitting left-hander Hetmyer lbw later in the over.

Buttler was persuaded to review by Ben Duckett after Hetmyer was pinned on the back pad by a fuller delivery and HawkEye predicted the ball would have clattered into leg-stump.

Having lost their first four wickets in 20 balls, the Windies relied on skipper Hope and Rutherford, in his second ODI, to rebuild. Hope drove fluently and took three straight fours off Atkinson in the over while his more junior partner was initially content to swim in his captain’s slipstream.

Will Jacks was given his first bowl of the series, having been curiously overlooked on Sunday, but conceded 27 in four innocuous overs while Brydon Carse was belted back over his head for six.

As the smoke from the barbecue vendors beyond the stands drifted across the ground, the partnership had extended well into three figures, with both batters going past 50 before Livingstone, held back until the 26th over, ended the union as Rutherford drove loosely to Phil Salt in the ring.

Yannic Cariah was then castled through the gate by a floaty off-spinner from Livingstone, who produced a precision piece of bowling to leave Hope in two minds as he was beaten through bat and pad.

Livingstone had his figures spoiled slightly as Romario Shepherd took four fours in five balls off the all-rounder before perishing in the deep for 19 after looking to take down Rehan Ahmed.

The Windies got past 200 but they had 10 overs unused as Atkinson bookended the innings, taking a return catch after Alzarri Joseph top-edged straight up in the air.

Curran opened the bowling alongside Chris Woakes in the opening-day defeat by New Zealand, and took a wicket with his very first ball as Will Young nicked an inswinger down leg.

But Topley was recalled to bolster the attack for Tuesday’s clash in Dharamshala and the 6ft 7in left-armer was in wonderful form, taking out Tanzid Hasan and Najmul Hossain Shanto with consecutive deliveries in his first over and then bowling the dangerous Shakib Al Hasan with a beauty that crept past the outside edge and hit off stump.

Those early breakthroughs knocked the stuffing out of the chase before it had really begun as Topley finished with figures of four for 43 in a heavy 137-run victory.

Curran was on hand at the death to claim the final wicket of the match and had nothing but praise for the man who replaced him at the top of the innings.

“Of course I would like the new ball, but what I like doing for the team is adapting and I thought Reece bowled amazingly,” he said.

“To get two in two and three in the powerplay really set Bangladesh back quickly. It was pretty amazing for him to come back into the side and do that. It got the boys buzzing in the field and the margin we won by was important to get back on track with our net run-rate as well.

“Reece is very tall and, being a left-armer, it’s very nice to use different angles on the crease. The way he started was amazing.”

Curran also saluted the efforts of Dawid Malan, who helped himself to 140 in just 107 deliveries to power England to a winning score of 364 for nine.

Malan edged ahead of 2019 World Cup winner Jason Roy in the pecking order just before the squad was announced and made good on his promotion with a fourth century in the last nine innings.

“He’s fairly quiet, but he does all his talking with the bat to be fair,” said Curran.

“He’s played really consistent cricket for a long time now, he missed out in the first game but he’s showed his class now. A big hundred is what we needed.

“The batters came out the blocks pretty well and we’ve got ourselves into the tournament with a first win now. Hopefully we can keep it going.”

England are swapping the Himalayan mountain air of Dharamshala for the hustle and bustle of Delhi next, with a game against Afghanistan to follow on Sunday.

Curran's older brother Tom has been called up to replace the 23-year-old, who suffered the setback while playing in the Indian Premier League for Chennai Super Kings at the weekend.

Scans revealed a lower-back issue, meaning disappointment for one sibling but an opportunity for another.

Surrey's Reece Topley will also join up with the squad after being added as a travelling reserve for the tournament in the United Arab Emirates and Oman.

England's opening match is against West Indies, who beat them in the 2016 final, on October 23.

The all-rounder was the star of the show in Chattogram on Monday, top scoring with 75 off 71 balls as the Tigers posted 246 all out in the day-night contest.

Shakib also excelled with the ball, taking 4-35 to make history at the end of a series that the tourists won 2-1 after they were dismissed for 196.

Sam Curran (2-51) had Litton Das caught behind in the first over and reduced the Tigers to 17-2 by removing Tamim Iqbal, who opted to bat first after winning the toss. 

Najmul Hossain Shanto (53) and Mushfiqur Rahim (70) then put on 98 for the second wicket before the number three was run out following a mix-up with the wicketkeeper-batter, who missed out on a hundred when he was bowled by an Adil Rashid wrong 'un.

Rashid (2-21) bowled Mahmudullah through the gate and Mehidy Hasan became debutant Rehan Ahmed's first scalp when he was caught and bowled, before Jofra Archer claimed (3-35) three wickets late in the innings.

England's openers got them off to a solid start prior to Phil Salt (35) being taken by Mahmudullah off the bowling of Shakib, who then rattled Jason Roy's middle stump with a quicker delivery after Dawid Malan fell for a second-ball duck.

Curran was removed by Mehidy for 23 after being sent in at number five and Shakib struck again to see the back of James Vince (38).

Taijul Islam (2-52) got in on the act by trapping Jos Buttler leg before and bowling Rashid, before Shakib sent Rehan on his way to reach the 300 mark, with Mustafizur Rahman getting Chris Woakes (34) caught and bowled to seal the win. 

Shakib makes history

Spinning all-rounder Shakib gave the Bangladesh innings some impetus, hitting seven boundaries as he scored at just over a run a ball in a staggering 52nd ODI half-century.

He then joined the 300 club in this format by dismissing Salt, Roy, Vince and Rehan, conceding only three boundaries in his 10 overs.

More encouragement for Archer

After such a long absence due to injury nightmares, Archer added to the two wickets he took in the opening ODI as he got through 8.5 overs.

With his workload being carefully managed, the paceman bowled with pace and showed the variation he has in his armoury.

Bairstow, Sam Curran and Mark Wood have been rested for the opening two matches of a series that gets underway at MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on February 5.

Jofra Archer, Ben Stokes and Rory Burns return, while Ollie Pope will be added to a 16-man squad when he has fully recovered from a shoulder operation.

The squad was named on the eve of a second Test versus Sri Lanka which England will start looking to secure a 2-0 series whitewash.

Batsman Bairstow made 47 and an unbeaten 35 in a seven-wicket win for the tourists in Galle last week after being recalled for a first Test appearance since facing South Africa at the end of 2019.

Smith explained that the decision to omit Bairstow was taken to ensure he has enough time off with such a hectic schedule to come this year, including the T20 World Cup in India.

"I spoke at length to Jonny yesterday, as well as at Loughborough before the Sri Lankan tour," Smith said.

"[I said to Bairstow he has] a fantastic opportunity coming up in Sri Lanka, where we expect you to get game time. But at some point, as is the case with the other multi-format players, you're going to need your rest too, and he completely understands that and endorses it."

Smith added: "Whenever you take rest there's always a downside. These guys, Jonny included, love playing for England, but they also understand that they need their rest, so there's always two sides to it.

"But it felt right for Jonny to take his break now, because obviously he's a key part of the white-ball set-up, so that he can continue on with that when he comes back into the Test squad, as we build towards a very important cycle in the T20s, with the World Cup in the autumn."

Smith was impressed with the impact Bairstow made on his return in the longest format.

"It was great to see Jonny looking very focused and clear in Test cricket. He was given lots of visibility ahead of time that he would be likely to bat three, playing as a batsman," he said.

"But over the long term, as I've said many times, I think Jonny is a highly talented player, and we know he brings a lot to the party and can play a number of different roles. That remains the case."

England squad for first two Tests against India: 

Joe Root (captain), Jofra Archer, Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Dom Bess, Stuart Broad, Rory Burns, Jos Buttler, Zak Crawley, Ben Foakes, Dan Lawrence, Jack Leach, Dom Sibley, Ben Stokes, Olly Stone, Chris Woakes.

Reserves:

James Bracey, Mason Crane, Saqib Mahmood, Matt Parkinson, Ollie Robinson, Amar Virdi.

A five-wicket win over Pakistan in Melbourne means Jos Buttler's side are the first men's team to hold both major ICC titles, having won the 50-over World Cup in 2019 on home soil.

Victory in Australia means England become just the second team to win the T20 World Cup twice, with Sidebottom having been a member of the 2010 title-winning side.

A failure to capitalise on that initial success meant it was the best part of a decade before they triumphed again in limited-overs cricket, but the former Yorkshire bowler thinks they are primed to push on this time.

"When we won it in 2010, we had an opportunity to go on and build, get better as a nation and we kind of got left behind again," he told Stats Perform.

"But now we have a huge opportunity to become the best, [to be] number one in the world in all formats. We've got the players, we've got the facilities now.

"I think we've got everything. We can achieve great things. I really believe that if we keep moving forward and keep striving to get better and better."

No small part of England's success came from the performances of Sam Curran, with the Surrey all-rounder named player of the tournament for his performances with the ball.

Having been far from an assured first-choice pick before arriving in Australia, the 24-year-old has effectively cemented his place, with Sidebottom feeling he is an invaluable piece of the puzzle now.

"I think he's been amazing," he added. "He's improved so much as a cricket. You throw the ball to Sam Curran, and he makes things happen.

"That's quite a rare commodity for someone. You know he's either going to take a wicket or do something very special. [England] have so many left-armers, but he's been the pick of everyone."

Knowing his side needed a victory at the Gabba to have a realistic chance of qualifying from Group 1, Buttler top scored with 73 off 47 balls to become his country's leading T20I run-scorer, with Alex Hales (52 from 40) also making a half-century in England's 179-6.

The England captain was dropped by Kane Williamson on eight and Daryl Mitchell when he had 40 to his name, with his team on course for 200 before a flurry of late wickets, including the brilliant Buttler being run out when he was in full flow as the Black Caps clawed it back.

New Zealand were in trouble on 28-2 after losing Devon Conway and Finn Allen, but Glenn Phillips and Williamson swung the game in their favour with a third-wicket stand of 91.

Moeen Ali dropped a simple chance to get rid of the powerful Phillips, in great touch after a brutal century against Sri Lanka, for 15 but Ben Stokes had Williamson (40) caught by Adil Rashid at short third man for a much-needed breakthrough.

Phillips was dismissed by the excellent Sam Curran (2-26) as England took the upper hand and Chris Woakes (2-33) was also outstanding to restrict the Black Caps to 159-6, sealing a victory that moved England second in Group 1 ahead of Australia with one game to play against Sri Lanka and level on points with leaders New Zealand, who face Ireland on Friday.

Buttler serves up a treat

Buttler capitalised on being given two lives to move beyond Eoin Morgan's tally of 2,458, taking his haul to 2,468 with a masterful 18th T20I half-century.

He struck two sixes and seven fours, showing a combination of sheer power and finesse to lead by example at the top of the order along with Hales.

Buttler then took a magnificent diving catch for Woakes to dismiss Conway, rising to the occasion in a must-win landmark game for the skipper.

In-form Curran steps up again

Curran has been outstanding for England in Australia, starring in a pre-tournament series success over the hosts and maintaining his fine form when it matters most.

He struck a six late in England's innings and then bowled four tight overs without conceding a boundary, also claiming the wickets of Allen and the big scalp of Phillips.

Curran also took an important catch in the deep to see the back of the dangerous Neesham as England claimed a measure of revenge for their T20 World Cup semi-final defeat to the Black Caps last year.

The left-arm seamer snaffled stunning figures of 5-10 from 3.4 overs, claiming four wickets from his final six balls as Afghanistan were bowled out for 112 before England started with a five-wicket win at Perth Stadium on Saturday.

Curran also caught the eye in a recent 2-0 win over hosts Australia and the all-rounder is revelling having the opportunity to play a key role.

"To come here and start with a win was obviously great, and Ireland on Wednesday will be another tricky game so we'll prepare well for that, fly to Melbourne tomorrow, and go again," Curran said at the post-match presentation.

"I'm just trying to be as adaptable as possible. Early in my career I was probably more suited to the powerplay, but I've tried to get better at different phases of the game. I'm really enjoying my cricket at the moment."

Assessing his five-wicket haul, Curran said: "You've got to enjoy the days when it goes well, and hopefully it goes well for the next five or six games."

Curran was sporting a trimmer haircut than usual, and he told Sky Sports: "The barber yesterday went a little bit short, so hopefully in a couple of games it'll grow out a bit, but I'll take some stick from my mates."

England might have hoped to finish this match in a little more style, with the top three batters each getting to double figures but failing to go on. 

Liam Livingstone's unbeaten 29 provided the impetus at the end of the innings to get the job done, moving England level on points with New Zealand after they hammered Australia.

"You saw the way the Afghanistan team made it quite tricky towards the end," Curran said. "We knew they had world-class spinners in the middle there and it was just nice to get the first victory over the line."

England took all of Afghanistan's wickets with catches, the first time 10 have gone down in a T20 World Cup game in such a manner.

"We really worked on our fielding over the last couple of weeks," said Curran. "We know it's going to be a huge factor in the tournament."

Curran took 5-10 from 3.4 overs at Perth Stadium on Saturday, a haul that included four wickets in six balls spread across his final two overs to become the first England bowler to take five wickets in a T20I.

Afghanistan crumbled to 112 all out as Curran tore through their lower order, with England reaching the victory target in 18.1 overs to move level on points with New Zealand in Group 1.

Left-arm seamer Curran was excellent with the ball in a recent series win over Australia and made another big impact in an Afghanistan innings that never got going.

Liam Livingstone, Adil Rashid and Moeen Ali held excellent catches for Jos Buttler's side, before Curran took centre stage. Mark Wood (2-23) and Ben Stokes (2-19) also impressed with the ball in a strong start for England.

Ibrahim Zadran top scored with 32 for Afghanistan, while England had four batters in double figures, Livingstone finishing with an unbeaten 29.

Classy Curran

Curran's previous best T20I bowling performance was the 3-25 he took against Australia just 10 days prior to this match. His economy rate of 2.72 in this five-star performance was his meanest in the short format, and he told Fox Sports: "At the start of the game, I did not expect to be walking off like that."

The all-rounder bowled 16 dot balls and conceded just one boundary, putting the squeeze on and reaping the rewards.

England record haul shows catches win matches

As Afghanistan fell short with the bat and dropped catches in the field, England's sharp fielding effort meant this was the first time in a T20 World Cup match that all 10 dismissals in an innings were catches.

The result also means England have won all three of their T20Is against Afghanistan, each meeting coming at World T20 level, at the 2012 and 2016 editions.

Former limited-overs England captain Morgan skippered his side to Cricket World Cup 50-over success in 2019, before falling short in the semi-finals of the T20 edition of the world competition in 2021.

The 36-year-old stepped down from his role in June, allowing Jos Buttler to take charge of the white-ball sides, and England triumphed in their captain's first tournament at the helm.

A five-wicket victory with six balls remaining over Pakistan in the final means England are now dual white-ball world champions, with Morgan suggesting Buttler's side have cemented their place in history.

"This team deserves it," Morgan said on Sky Sports. "They've been through the mill in the group stages and they've produced close to their very best against India in the semi-final.

"Jos Buttler said, 'We don't want to be known as a team just for our style of play'. We were known like that in 50 overs then won the 50-over World Cup in 2019.

"In T20 they've now won something tangible to be regarded as one of the great sides. They were excellent."

Ben Stokes, as has been the case across multiple formats in recent years, proved to be the hero with an unbeaten 52, seeing England over the line after they were reeling at 45-3 chasing 138.

From Headingley in the Ashes in 2019, to his Lord's heroics in the Cricket World Cup final earlier that year, Morgan heralded Stokes as the man for the big occasion.

"Ben is just such a special player," Morgan added. "In big games he continues to stand up for his country when his country needs him. That is such an incredible skill to have.

"When something has the potential to go awry, Ben is the guy that thinks coolly and calmly under pressure and makes brilliant decisions. He's done it so many times now.

"At certain stages of my captaincy I did take it [Stokes' role] for granted because he continued to be able to produce under pressure all the time.

"He always wants to be in the game and is that player who continually nags you to get in the high-pressure moments. It's a complete luxury to have a guy like Ben Stokes at your disposal."

While Stokes became just the third player to score 50-plus runs in both an ODI World Cup and T20 World Cup final (also Gautam Gambhir and Kumar Sangakkara), Sam Curran played an important role.

Left-arm seamer Curran picked up 1-12 from his four overs, marking his 13th scalp of the tournament – the second-most by a pacer in any single edition of the tournament (Dirk Nannes - 14 wickets in 2010).

"It [Curran's World Cup performance] is extraordinary," Morgan continued. "He really has been a find in all parts of the game. Jos Buttler has brought him on in the powerplay, used him through the middle and the biggest plus has been his death bowling.

"He has really stood up and bowled with a huge amount of skill and clarity. To produce in a World Cup final is extraordinary from someone that young. When his team needed him, Sam Curran did it today."

Excellent bowling in particular from Adil Rashid and Sam Curran held Pakistan to just 137-8, and England overcame some nervy moments in the chase to win their second T20 World Cup.

After England won the toss and opted to bowl in Melbourne, Pakistan struggled to get going, mustering just four boundaries on their way to 68-2 after 10 overs.

Despite Shan Masood's best efforts (38 runs from 28 balls), England then tore through Pakistan's middle order, Curran finishing with excellent figures of 3-12.

Pakistan required early wickets, and Shaheen Afridi found just what they needed with the final ball of the first over, sending an absolute ripper crashing through Alex Hales' middle stump.

Jos Buttler and Phil Salt steadied the ship before Salt was dismissed in the fourth over when smashing Haris Rauf's delivery straight to the waiting Iftikhar Ahmed, before Rauf then claimed the key wicket of Buttler (26 off 17) as the England skipper nicked behind.

England were now in real peril of letting the game and tournament slip through their fingers, though an important third-wicket stand took them to 84-4 before Brook fell for 20 from 23 deliveries, Afridi taking the catch off Shadab Khan's bowling.

Afridi injured himself in his role in that dismissal, and though he tried to return, he could only bowl one ball of his third over before being forced off the field.

Stokes and Moeen Ali took full advantage, nailing boundaries as they closed in on the target, with Moeen hitting three fours in the 17th over to take England within 12 of victory.

He was removed in the 19th over by Mohammad Wasim, but Stokes and Liam Livingstone finished the job, with Stokes hitting the winning run to end on 52 off 49 deliveries and win the tournament for his nation.

Curran shines in brightest moment

In the biggest game of his young career, Curran's 3-12 and 15 dot balls were key in restricting Pakistan to a score of just 137.

Along with Rashid (2-22), England's bowling attack set their star batting order up to go and win the game, which they just about managed.

Stokes comes up trumps again

Stokes, one of England's main men over recent years, came up huge for his country yet again with a vital innings to help them to victory.

Coming in with England 32-2 after 3.3 overs, Stokes' first ever T20I half-century came at the perfect time to add another historic performance to his already impressive resume.

The Titans looked to be strolling to a win before Gill fell in the final over, with Gujarat needing all but one ball of their 20 overs to reach the target of 154.

Punjab's innings got off to a poor start when Prabhsimran Singh was out for a second-ball duck after inadvertently lobbing Mohammed Shami to Rashid Khan, before captain Shikhar Dhawan was dismissed by Josh Little for just eight.

Matt Short was going well on 36 from 24 balls before a superb delivery from Rashid bowled the Australian.

Jitesh Sharma helped steady things with 25 from 23 before edging Mohit Sharma to Wriddhiman Saha, but Bhanuka Rajapaksa and Sam Curran played some risk-free cricket to make sure the Kings had some wickets in hand for the closing overs.

Rajapaksa fell for 20 with three overs left, with Curran following soon after for 22, though a quickfire 22 from Shahrukh Khan helped them to a final total of 153-8.

Saha and Gill put on an opening partnership of 48 inside the first five overs before the former picked out Short at deep square leg off the bowling of Kagiso Rabada for 30.

Sai Sudharsan added 19 before being dismissed by Arshdeep Singh, while Hardik Pandya matched his fellow captain by also only managing eight runs before departing.

Gill was dramatically bowled by Curran in the final over as the Titans were left needing six from the final four balls, and then four from two, but Rahul Tewatia swept a four with the penultimate delivery to seal the win for Gujarat.

Gill dethrones Kings again

It was a superb effort from Gill, who hit four fours and one six as his 67 from 49 balls took the Titans to victory.

This was his fifth 50 against the Kings, his highest tally against any single opponent in the IPL, while no player has logged more scores of 50+ runs against Punjab than Gill since his IPL debut in 2018.

Dhawan cannot find the power

Shikhar Dhawan was unable to produce a much-needed captain's innings for the Kings, trying to loft Little's delivery over mid-on, but only finding the safe hands of Alzarri Joseph.

He has been dismissed 85 times during powerplay overs in the IPL, the most of any player and at least 15 more times than any other in the competition's history (Parthiv Patel second on 70).