Sam Curran joins brother Tom in T20 squad

Sam Curran could follow his older brother Tom into the England side after winning a call-up for the T20 squad for the triangular tournament against Australia and New Zealand.

Curran steps in as a replacement after Joe Root was rested out of the tournament and Ben Stokes announced his arrival in New Zealand would be delayed because of a court appearance in Bristol on February 13 to answer a charge of affray. The T20 triangular takes place from February 3-21.

Tom Curran, two years older and a team-mate at Surrey, made his T20I debut against South Africa at Taunton in June and has since gained honours across all three formats. He is also a member of England's T20 party, inviting the possibility that they could even play in the same England side.

Brother Sam, a diminutive, brisk left-armer with the ability to swing the ball, spent the turn of the year developing his T20 game while playing for Auckland in the Burger King Super Smash, and was a permanent fixture in a side that was beaten at the semi-final stage.

At 19, he had a reasonable, if not strikingly productive season, claiming nine wickets in as many matches at 32.55 each and conceding 9.15 runs per over. But there were runs, too, 157 of them at 26.16 and an excellent strike rate of 161.85. Nevertheless, his combative qualities as well as his precocious skills have been enough to tempt England to take a look.