Why England should back Sam Curran for T20I middle-order spot

For any allrounder, being labelled "adaptable" is to be damned with faint praise. It is a familiar dilemma: their ability to contribute with both bat and ball tends to see them selected more often than if they were specialists, but often finds them shoehorned into roles to which they are poorly suited by teams who use them to balance their side.

It has been the story of Sam Curran's career as a T20I batter. Across a T20 career spanning nearly 250 matches, Curran has proven that he is a middle-order batter rather than a finisher, who thrives on responsibility and benefits hugely from the chance to get himself set. Yet England's batting riches means he has rarely batted in their top five.

The result is that Curran's T20 batting record for England makes for grim reading: an average of 12.95, and a strike rate of just 118.26. In the Caribbean in December, England promoted him to No. 4 for the first time: he responded with 50 off 32 balls, his maiden half-century in T20Is. He was immediately pushed back down the order, and stayed there.

Across his T20 career, Curran has batted at Nos. 3-5 in 98 innings, averaging 27.90 with a strike rate of 140.43; he has batted at No. 6-10 in a further 93, averaging just 15.98 and striking at 124.97. With England due to announce their white-ball squads for Australia's tour in September on Monday, they face a call on Curran's future: this is the time to back him or sack him.

"He's been so often used out of position in that No. 6 or 7 role," Tom Moody, Curran's coach at Oval Invincibles, said. "Sometimes players like Sam can be plugged as a 'Mr Fix It' because they're good at everything. But if you're chopping and changing that role constantly, you never know where you're sitting… Sam, like all good players, likes responsibility."

In 2015, England dropped Ben Stokes from their World Cup squad after batting him at No. 8 in an ODI series in Sri Lanka; Paul Collingwood likened it to "telling Cristiano Ronaldo to play at right-back". Even if Curran's ceiling as a T20 batter is lower, it has felt like a similar waste for him to be languishing at No. 7 and 8 in a role that doesn't suit him.

Curran was named MVP in the men's Hundred last week, as much for his middle-order batting as his 17 wickets. He batted at No. 3, 4 and 5, generally coming in soon after the powerplay, and showcased his new-found ability to clear the ropes consistently: he hit 17 sixes in the competition, second only to Nicholas Pooran.