LONDON: Sam Curran said on Friday he is ready to fill the huge gap left in England’s Test side by the international retirement of Ben Stokes if called upon to replace the outstanding all-rounder.

Stokes’s stunning exit at Trent Bridge, announcing he was quitting England duty on the fourth afternoon of a Test that his side went on to lose heavily as they suffered a 2-1 series defeat by New Zealand, has left team management with some tricky problems.

While white-ball skipper Harry Brook and former Test captain Joe Root are the obvious candidates candidates as England’s red-ball leader, the question of who fills his shoes as a fast-bowling all-rounder capable of balancing the side looks to be a thornier issue. Curran, 28, might come as close as anyone to solving England’s dilemma ahead of their next Test, in August against Pakistan.

Curran, currently involved in the T20 series agai­nst India, would have no qualms about a Test recall.

“Stokesy’s going to be a big gap to fill for whoever takes that role but, yeah, I love playing for England,” he told reporters on Friday.

“There’s obviously going to be a lot of noise on whoever takes that spot. I don’t want to put pressure on myself, [but] I’m a competitive person — whatever challenge is thrown at me, I’ll try my best. So whatever format that is, I’ll do my best whenever I can,” added Curran.

Published in Dawn, July 4th, 2026