Ben Curran, Sam Curran's brother, slams maiden Test century; achieves unique distinction for family

Harare:

Zimbabwe are dominating Afghanistan in the only Test being played in Harare right from the opening day. The visitors got bowled out for just 127 runs in the first innings and then Zimbabwe have piled the agony on them with Ben Curran slamming his maiden Test century. Interestingly, Ben has become the first cricketer in the Curran family to have notched up a century in Test and ODI formats.

For the unversed, Ben Curran is the brother of Sam and Tom Curran, who play for England. Their father, Kevin Curran, played for Zimbabwe and featured in 11 ODIs for them, picking up nine wickets and mustering 287 runs with two fifties to his name. Moreover, Sam Curran has played 24 Tests, 35 ODIs and 63 T20Is for England but has yet to score a century.

He is an all-rounder but bats lower down the order across formats, which makes it almost impossible for him to score a ton. As for Tom, he is a specialist fast bowler and has played 2 Tests, 28 ODIs and 30 T20Is for England. It is not surprising that Tom hasn't even scored a fifty yet in his career.

Ben Curran's century puts Zimbabwe in the driver's seat

As far as the match is concerned, Ben Curran's century has put Zimbabwe in an extremely dominating position in the Test match against Afghanistan. After skittling the opposition for just 127 runs, Zimbabwe have already taken a lead of more than 150 runs, with Ben playing brilliantly. The Test match is only into its second day and Afghanistan have already fallen behind a lot in the game. 

With the ball, it was Brad Evans for the home team who picked up a five-wicket haul while Blessing Muzarabani also shone with three scalps to his name. For Afghanistan, Ziaur Rahman Sharifi has starred with the ball, accounting for three wickets so far. The visitors will need a heroic effort with the bat in the second innings to have any chance of coming back into the Test.

Also Read