English U19 batsman Haseeb Hameed, nicknamed 'The Wall', draws comparisons to Rahul Dravid

Haseeb Hameed - The new Wall?

Haseeb Hameed might have just turned 18 earlier this year and hasn’t yet played a first-class game, but he is already making a name for himself in cricketing circles with impressive performances for the England Under-19 team. So much so that the young lad from Bolton has now earned the nickname ‘The Wall’ and has drawn comparisons to Indian batting great Rahul Dravid.

A couple of days ago, Hameed batted for 256 deliveries on day 3 of a four-day Youth Test to help his side draw the match against Australia’s U19s at the WACA, Perth. The WACA is known to be one of the toughest pitches to bat on and Hameed showed great composure to score 91* in England U19’s second innings after the Aussie colts had taken a lead of 283 runs after the first essay.

The entire fourth day was washed out due to rain, which meant that Hameed’s efforts were enough to save the Youth Test for the England U19s. In their first innings, the English colts were bowled out for 172 but their second innings performance will certainly give them a big boost ahead of the Youth ODI series which begins on April 13.

Speaking after the match, the 18-year-old was happy with his performance but a little disappointed that he didn’t get the chance to reach the three-figure mark.

“It would have been nice to get a hundred but I’m pleased with the contribution that I made. I knew we had to really dig deep and I had to be patient and quite disciplined in the way I played,” he said.

Just like Dravid, Hameed bats at number three and will be hoping to break into the Lancashire first team this season.