Tom (right) and Sam Curran © Getty Images
Tom and Sam Curran became the first brothers in 65 years to share all 10 wickets in a County Championship innings as Surrey took charge against Northamptonshire on Thursday. The Curran siblings, whose late father Kevin played for Northamptonshire, joined forces as the visitors were dismissed just 110 at The Oval before being forced to follow on 300 runs behind in the Second Division match. Tom, 20, took seven for 35 and 17-year-old Sam picked up three for 46 as the pair became the first brothers to take all 10 wickets in a championship innings since Jack and Charlie Oakes managed it for Sussex against Somerset in 1950.
Most recently, Bernard and Nicolaas Scholtz achieved the feat for Namibia against Kwa-Zulu-Natal in 2011.
Tom Curran struck again with the third ball of Northamptonshire’s second innings, but Ben Duckett (116 not out) and Alex Wakely (93 not out) helped the visitors recover to 223 for one by the close of day three to ensure the champagne remains on ice for title-chasing leaders Surrey.
It was a day of double celebration for Sam Curran, who was selected for the England Under-19 squad for a series in Sri Lanka in December.
Both Curran brothers are regarded as potential stars, with Tom having taken 74 wickets this season and Sam the youngest player to take five wickets on his Championship debut. The late Kevin Curran, who passed away in October 2012, played 11 One-Day Internationals (ODI) for Zimbabwe between 1983 and 1987, and went on to coach the team between the years 2005 and 2007. READ: Kevin Curran, one of Zimbabwe’s finest all-rounders who carved a niche for himself in county cricket
Brief scores:
Surrey 410 (Kumar Sangakkara 101, Sam Curran 61*; Graeme White 3 for 81) lead Northamptonshire 110 (Tom Curran 7 for 35, Sam Curran 3 for 46) and 223 for 1 (Ben Duckett 116*, Alex Wakely 93*; Tom Curran 1 for 54) by 77 runs.