The English brothers Curran have carved out remarkable professions, albeit their paths have not all been the same. The middle brother, Ben Curran, is returning to Zimbabwe while his brothers, Tom Curran and Sam Curran, have made success for themselves in England.
Ben Curran was born in Rusape, Eastern Zimbabwe, to cricket hero Kevin Curran. Ben and his brothers grew up in Rusape. The brothers relocated to England after their father passed away suddenly in 2012, and Tom and Sam enjoyed great success in their careers with Surrey and the national team.
Although the 28-year-old chose a different path, he is dedicated to playing in Zimbabwe, where he is qualified for national selection, following a spell with Northamptonshire. His recent performance of 458 runs, including two half-centuries and a century, in the Logan Cup, Zimbabwe’s best first-class league, has been above average.
“I believe my accent would make a slight difference. I’ve lived in Zimbabwe and England, but I suppose I have a stronger bond with Zimbabwe because that’s where I was born and raised and where my parents are from. We travelled to Zimbabwe when we were quite little; I believe I was around four or five years old after my dad had concluded his career as a Northampton player. We relocated, I suppose you could say, back to Zimbabwe, and I lived there for the majority of my early years and school years—more than half of my life,” he said.
What a story it would be: Ben Curran
Ben is not discounting the prospect of representing Zimbabwe internationally. It seems unlikely that Ben would play against one of his brothers on the international front, even though England is scheduled to host Zimbabwe for a one-off Test match next year.
“You know what a story that would be. We’ll have to see what happens; if it did occur, it would probably be a strange, unique experience with conflicting feelings. Have to imagine what my mother would be thinking—I imagine she would be experiencing a lot more emotions,” Curran continued.
Ben’s dad was a Zimbabwean player as well.
Ben’s path is comparable to that of his late father, a Northamptonshire and Zimbabwean football player.
Isn’t it a complete circle? It would be fantastic if that occurred. He played at Northampton, I played there as well, and I’m hoping to return and represent Zimbabwe, where he both played and coached,” he said.
Ben is concentrated on the task at hand and getting ready for the upcoming season with the Mid-West Rhinos. The southpaw hopes to play to the best of his abilities and control the controllable.
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“There’s always a chance; all I have to do is return and give myself the best shot by performing consistently. In the end, the focus is on the outcomes. It’s one of those situations where I have to give it everything I’ve got and control the things I can control, and maybe that will position me for success moving ahead, Ben concluded.