For so long, the debate over Sam Curran’s inclusion in England sides across the formats has been marketed as one of intangibles, a matter not just of runs, wickets and averages, but of happy knacks, moments seized and fiery, juvenile spirit.
A television segment during the final Test of the summer against South Africa offered reassurance that, behind-closed-doors at least, more is being done to try to quantify the unquantifiable. Curran’s 66 per cent win ratio for England in red-ball cricket was highlighted by the ECB’s head of performance, Mo Bobat, even if the statistic alone does little to explain the hows or whys.
