Tom Curran: Surrey and England all-rounder takes break from red-ball cricket

Tom Curran has scored 5,709 runs and taken 195 wickets in County Championship matches

Surrey and England all-rounder Tom Curran is to take a break from red-ball cricket to "prioritise his physical and mental health".

The 27-year-old, who has played two Tests for England, will concentrate on his limited-overs commitments, having suffered a number of injuries.

Curran is currently playing for Desert Vipers in the International League T20.

He has also played for Oval Invincibles in The Hundred and has won 58 One-Day and Twenty20 caps for England.

His last County Championship appearance was against Lancashire in September 2022 and earlier in the season, he scored his maiden first-class century off only 85 balls against Northamptonshire.

He has not played a Test since January 2018 when he scored 39 and 23 not out - as well as taking one wicket - as Australia beat England by an innings and 123 runs in Sydney.

"The last couple of years have not been easy for me. I have had a lot of time and this isn't a decision that I've taken lightly," Curran, the brother of all-rounder Sam, told the Surrey website.

"Some choices in life I don't think you will ever be 100% sure and this is definitely one of those. But where I find myself at this exact moment, I feel like it is the right decision for my body and for my mental health.

"I'm definitely not ruling out playing red-ball cricket again in the future, and I feel like I have unfinished business in this format for both Surrey and England.

"But until I can feel 100% committed and confident in my body to be performing day in and day out for Surrey in the County Championship, I feel that putting all my time and focus into on our Vitality Blast campaign this year is the right thing to do."

Curran, who will shortly join Islamabad United in the Pakistan Super League, has also played in the Indian Premier League and Australia's Big Bash.

"Obviously when you lose a player of Tom's quality from your County Championship squad it is a blow, but I have spoken to him at length about his decision and understand why he has made it," Surrey director of cricket Alec Stewart said.

"He has suffered with injuries in recent years and if this can help strengthen his body and keep him on a cricket field more regularly over the coming years, I fully support the decision."