Surrey captain Burns: England call feels really surreal

BY MARCUS HOOK

Surrey skipper Rory Burns says that being named in the England squad for the forthcoming Test series against Sri Lanka feels surreal.

The 28-year-old left-hander has scored over one thousand first-class runs in each of the last five seasons, but his performances in 2018 in particular have been second-to-none. Leading Division One in runs scored, Burns currently has 1,319 at an average of 69.42.

On his debut call-up, Burns said: “It feels really surreal. I’m just really delighted, in all honesty.”

The opener, who captained the England Lions earlier this year, explained that he was told the news last week, during Surrey’s trip to Taunton.

“Ed Smith just gave me a quick ring,” said Burns. “It actually cut out halfway through. He was telling me the good news, and my phone cut out so I ran down quickly to try and find a spot with some signal.

“There’s been a bit of a hearsay about it for a little while, and a lot of questions about it, so it’s obviously nice to get that phone call and put an end to that questioning and stop worrying about that and just get on with my business.

“I’ve never been to Sri Lanka before, so that’ll be something new. I’m just really looking forward to it, and looking forward to getting going.”

South African International, Dean Elgar, who was Surrey’s overseas player for much of this season’s campaign, has told Burns what to expect in Sri Lanka.

“Dean Elgar has just got back from Sri Lanka,” said Burns. “And he said he didn’t face a ball of seam so that will be a challenge.”

Burns is joined in the squad for the three-match series beginning on November 6 by Surrey team-mates Sam Curran and Ollie Pope.

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Tom and Sam Curran are sitting out Surrey’s final game of the season at the request of the England management, as the pair will be flying out this weekend to take part in the two white-ball international series against Sri Lanka.

The combination of a side strain and a stint in the Indian Premier League (IPL) meant that Tom Curran made only four appearances in Surrey’s triumphant County Championship campaign, taking 19 wickets at just 16.42 runs apiece.

But now the performances of younger brother Sam during the recent Test series between India and England is attracting interest from T20 franchises the world over – specifically from teams in the IPL.
Royal Challengers Bangalore, the IPL side led by Virat Kohli, the India captain, are reportedly among the sides interested in securing his services for next year’s tournament.

Curran, just 20, hugely impressed in the Tests with his all-round abilities. His 63 in the second innings at Birmingham in the first Test rescued England from 87-7, with the home side going on to win by 31 runs.

Similarly, his 78 in the first innings in Southampton helped England post 246, despite being reduced to 86-6. The rubber culminated in Sam Curran being named England’s player of the series.

Quality all-rounders are at a premium among IPL sides, and Curran junior is sure to be snapped up by an IPL franchise if he keeps up this level of performance.

Assuming the Currans are recruited, Surrey can expect to see little of them with the 2019 IPL tournament set to run from March 29 to May 19, and England’s white-ball series against Pakistan scheduled to start on May 5.