Tom Curran has been called up to England’s Ashes squad. The 22-year-old Surrey all-rounder will fly out to Australia in the next 24 hours as a replacement for Steven Finn, after the Middlesex fast bowler was ruled out of the rest of the tour with a torn left knee cartilage.

Curran is yet to play a Test match for England. However, he broke into the white-ball side during the 2017 season, making his debut in Twenty20 and one-day international cricket, and impressed the England management with his attitude.

Coach Trevor Bayliss is known to be a fan, and so Curran has been preferred to the likes of Liam Plunkett, Tom Helm, George Garton and Mark Wood as England seek to bolster their ailing pace-bowling reserves ahead of the toughest series of them all.

England Ashes squad Show all 17 1 /17 England Ashes squad England Ashes squad Captain: Joe Root England's Mr Dependable will lead his side into an Ashes series for the first time, and while he has the experience of the series wins in 2013 and 2015, he also has the scars of the last trip Down Under. Getty England Ashes squad Batsman: Alastair Cook The former captain will be crucial to England's hopes, with the Essex opener needing to find the same resilient form that he displayed in Australia in the 2010/11 series. Getty England Ashes squad Batsman: Mark Stoneman Cook's likely opening partner will be Mark Stoneman after selectors decided to stick with him despite a nervous series against the West Indies. Getty England Ashes squad Batsman/spinner: Dawid Malan Malan showed glimpses of promise this summer and can also offer an option with the ball, but he is untested on the hard pitches of Australia and could be found out. Getty England Ashes squad Batsman: Gary Ballance Ballance is handed yet another chance to salvage his England career as the selectors hope he will eventually come good for their unyielding faith. Getty England Ashes squad Batsman: James Vince Vince is the surprise inclusion in the squad, having done little of note in county cricket since being dropped in 2016. Getty England Ashes squad Batsman/spinner: Moeen Ali Moeen Ali could easily go on to be man of the series given his ability to deliver fireworks with bat and ball. He may disagree, but he is undoubtedly England's front line spinner. Getty England Ashes squad Batsman/spinner: Mason Crane Crane is yet to make his full debut, though took a wonderful catch against the West Indies as a substitute fielder and will head to Australia as a back-up leg-break spiner bowler. Getty England Ashes squad Wicketkeeper: Ben Foakes Foakes will head to Australia as a deputy for first-choice wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow. Getty England Ashes squad Wicketkeeper: Jonny Bairstow Another man who will need to produce runs to give England a chance of victory, with his ability in the mid-order giving the tourists a bite throughout the line-up. Getty England Ashes squad All-rounder: Ben Stokes Stokes is named in the side despite falling under a huge cloud after his arrest on a late night out in Bristol. His future as vice-captain looks very much in doubt. Getty England Ashes squad All-rounder: Chris Woakes Woakes will provide rest for the front-line bowlers and will also prove handy with the bat. Getty England Ashes squad Bowler: Stuart Broad Broad has long set his sights on this Ashes tour as he hopes to make up for the 2013/14 humiliation, and his opening partnership with James Anderson will set the tone for how England will cope out in Australia. Getty England Ashes squad Bowler: James Anderson England's leading Test wicket-taker will be wrapped in cotton wool until the first Test, though he will have to deliver the goods in a country where swing can be hard to find. Getty England Ashes squad Bowler: Jake Ball Ball could prove to be England's joke in the pack given his extra pace and bounce. Think Chris Tremlett a la 2010/11. It's just a case of keeping him fit. Getty England Ashes squad Bowler: Craig Overton The third uncapped member of the squad, Overton has been rewarded for a solid season with Somerset. Getty England Ashes squad Bowler: Tom Curran Called up by England to replace Steven Finn, who had previously been called up due to Ben Stokes' uncertainty. Getty

Given the unique demands of Ashes cricket on fast bowlers, history suggests that there is at least a decent chance that Curran will feature at some point during the series. It is also now likely that Curran will have to cancel his deal with the Hobart Hurricanes, with whom he had signed up to play in this season’s Big Bash.

Curran’s first-class record for Surrey last season was admittedly modest – 24 wickets at an average of 35 – but his record still compares favourably with the likes of Plunkett, who played just two County Championship games for Yorkshire last season, and Helm, who played just five.

Besides, Curran has been a consistent performer at Championship level over the last few seasons, and his fiery three-wicket international debut against South Africa at Taunton in June suggested that he is a player who relishes the biggest stage.

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