England all-rounder Sam Curran has indicated he would want to be like Ben Stokes -- who recently retired from One-day cricket citing the "unsustainable" workload of playing in all three formats -- saying he has always "looked up to" the charismatic player and would "try to copy him".<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Curran, 24, played a key role in England thrashing South Africa by 118 runs in the second ODI at Manchester on July 22, scoring an 18-ball 35 at the back end and then taking the prized wicket of David Miller as the hosts levelled the series 1-1.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The all-rounder had scored his maiden First-class century for Surrey earlier this season. The left-arm pacer will get another opportunity to showcase his all-round abilities when the deciding match of the ODI series takes place later on Sunday.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"I've always looked up to (Ben) Stokesy as a cricketer. I almost want to try to copy him. He's obviously a huge loss and the boys are going to miss him," Curran was quoted as saying by Daily Mail.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"I've always tried to follow the way he trains and the way he plays. Obviously he's retired from one-day cricket now but he'll go down as one of the greats for England. I try to be positive. That's the message Jos (Buttler) has given to me and the team. The situation we were in (in the second ODI), we didn't want to scrape a target of 145 to 150."<\/p>\r\n\r\n
England had a positive start to the innings before they were down six wickets for 101 and staring at a total in the 140-150 range but Curran's smashing innings of 35 helped them cross 200, giving a performance quite similar to what Stokes has been doing in the middle overs.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
He punished South African spinners with an aerial assault that included three sixes.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"For Surrey, I have batted up the order, which has made me think as a batsman. I like to try to read situations well. Guys like Moeen Ali and Stokesy who have batted in that middle-order for so long -- I like chatting to them about options and when to take risks. They are the kind of areas I'm working on," said Curran.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Curran said he would like to be an all-format cricketer, indicating that he is more than winning to take up the challenge of playing non-stop cricket.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"There is so much cricket. My goal is to play all three formats for England. That's been my dream since I was a kid. There is no better feeling than winning games for your country," he said, adding that he hopes to win a 25th Test cap in the near future too, having recovered from a stress fracture of the back.<\/p>\r\n\r\n