Still lamenting first Test scalp that never was, English star Tom Curran is dominating the Big Bash for Sydney Sixers

A year on after he was denied his first Test wicket when he dismissed David Warner for 99 with a no ball, Tom Curran is making his presence felt for the Sydney Sixers in the Big Bash.

Tom Curran still laments the Test wicket that wasn't, but he's putting it behind him to dominate for the Sydney Sixers in the Big Bash.

IT was exactly a year ago today that the Sydney Sixers’ paceman Tom Curran claimed his first Test wicket but the Englishman is still lamenting the fact it didn’t come 24 hours earlier.

He thought it had when he dismissed David Warner for 99 on the opening day of the Ashes test on Boxing Day at the Melbourne Cricket Ground only to be given the grim news that he’d overstepped the line and delivered a no-ball.

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The ecstasy: England’s Tom Curran celebrates his dismissal of David Warner in the Fourth Ashes Test on Boxing Day last year... Picture: Getty Images

And the agony: Curran is deflated as Warner is recalled, following his no-ball. Picture: AFP

Warner was given a reprieve and duly brought up his hundred in what was a cruel break for the debutant Englishman on a flat MCG pitch that was offering no help at all to the bowlers.

He eventually managed to get his maiden Test wicket on day two when he bowled Steve Smith and a year on, he can finally see the positives from it.

“It was very special for me to represent England for the first time in Test match cricket but I try to remember only the good things,” Curran told The Daily Telegraph.

“Obviously that no ball is something I do remember but that happens in cricket sometimes and although I had to get my first Test wicket twice, Steve Smith was a pretty good first one to get.”

Curran also dismissed Mitch Marsh in the final Ashes match in Sydney but hasn’t played a Test for England since, though he remains a key member of the England one-day and Twenty20 squads.

With England hosting next year’s World Cup, Curran has joined the Sixers to boost their title chances and help with his own preparations and hopes that performing well in Australia could boost his chances of being recalled to the Test side for the next Ashes series.

“I won't be playing any four day cricket until the Ashes which obviously makes it hard so it’s a tough one because we’re preparing now for the World Cup,” he said.

“I’m obviously playing in the Big Bash and focusing on white ball cricket but if that's my way back into the Test side, then so be it.

“I don't see myself as just a white ball cricketer, I see myself as an all formats player so I’m working as hard as I can to represent England in all forms.”

Curran has taken key wickets with the ball for Sydney. Picture: Getty Images

He’s also built some solid partnerships with the bat. Picture: AAP

Curran has been one of the standouts for the Sixers in the first two rounds, most notably in the Christmas Eve Sydney Smash derby against the Thunders when he took three wickets and belted 62 runs in his team’s 21-run loss at Spotless Stadium.

It was exactly the sort of performance that convinced the Sixers to chase his signature and one he hopes he can repeat when they take on Glenn Maxwell’s Melbourne Stars at the Sydney Cricket Ground today.

“Coming in as an overseas player, to get a decent performance in under the belt early on is always nice because you always want to be performing and contributing to the team,” Curran said.

“We’re 1-1 after two games but we’re taking a lot of positives out of it because we’re playing some good cricket and we’ve got some class players.

“It’s important that we win the next game though because we want to get a streak going while we are playing well.”

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Originally published as Still lamenting first Test scalp that never was, English star Tom Curran is dominating the Big Bash for Sydney Sixers