Ben Curran on Tuesday became the first member of the famed Curran family to slam an international century as Zimbabwe defeated Ireland in the third and final One Day International cricket match at Harare Sports Club to clinch the series 2-1.
Ben, the middle of three sons of former Zimbabwe cricketer Kevin Curran and brother to England duo Sam and Tom, who made his international debut last year, struck a career-best 118* to lead Zimbabwe to a commanding nine-wicket win over Ireland.
A regular in English County, Kevin Curran, who was cap number 2 for Zimbabwe, made 11 ODI appearances for the national team from 1983 to 1987, while his eldest and youngest sons, Tom and Sam, represent England on the international stage.
Neither of the three all-rounders were able to match Ben's feat of an international century. Kevin Curran has recorded 25 centuries in first class and 1 List A hundred.
Sam Curran had scored a first-class hundred in 2022 and another century in the T20 format last year but is yet to reach the triple-figure mark on the international stage.
All-rounder Sam Curran, who plays for England, has scored six fifties in his international career with a highest score of 95* in ODIs, while Tom Curran, who is more of a bowler, is yet to hit a half-century in international cricket.
Left-handed batter Ben, who has scored five first-class tons and two List A centuries, scored an unbeaten 118 to mark the first hundred scored on the international stage by the Curran family. His knock included 14 fours.
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Coming back to the deciding match, Ireland rode on fifties from Andrew Balbirnie, Harry Tector, and Lorcan Tucker to set a target of 241, which was chased down by Zimbabwe with 10.3 overs to spare.
Ben shared a 124-run stand for the opening wicket with Brian Bennett (48 off 48 balls) and later stitched an unbeaten 122-run partnership with skipper Craig Ervine (69* off 59 balls) to see Zimbabwe across the line in Harare.
The middle of the three brothers Ben later earned praise from former West Indies pacer Ian Bishop, who highlighted the similarities of the Zimbabwe batter with his England brothers on his social media account.
"Bats like Sam resemble Tom. Wonderful story that the last of the Curran family to enter international cricket is the first of the two to score an international century. Ben Curran has played a skilful and well-paced knock that ushers Zimbabwe to an ODI series win over Ireland," Bishop posted on X. -- Agencies/Sports Reporter.
