Haseeb Hameed, the young England prodigy has been handed a surprising call-up to the England team for the Bangladesh tour. The 19-year old was always on the fringes of National selection after a bumper season with the bat in which he amassed bucketful of runs for Lancashire. He became the first batsman to score 1000 runs for Lancashire. He went past Michael Atherton, and also became the fifth-youngest to score 1000 in a season for the county. Also, he was the first to score a hundred in each innings of a County match.
The young man displayed great temperament right from the outset and was earmarked for greater things from a very tender age.
“If Test cricket survives and thrives, then here’s a boy who was born to open the batting in it. I just hope the game lasts long enough for him to play it, ” these lofty words came from Mick Newell, the England selector.
If he walks out to open along with Alastair Cook, Hameed will become England's fifth youngest Test cricketer ever. His game is what many would call tailor made for Test cricket, for he defends with precision and leaves the ball without any hassle. Factor this: in his 31 Championship innings, there are only three single figure scores, and he has faced more than 90 balls on more than 17 occasions.
Who else, then, to accompany Cook, and who better than Hameed to churn out the runs.
Humble beginnings:
Hameed is of Indian origin, and many say this could be a reason behind those supple wrists and lazy stroke-making. A Lancashire boy, he did his schooling from Manchester, where he got his first cricketing lessons. He has no qualms in slipping into oversized cricketing gears, for all he ever wanted was to hold that bat and wield it like no one ever has done.
His father, Ismail, moved from India, and this explains the fanaticism in the family regarding cricket. The dad accompanied the three boys to the park and they used to have fun by just throwing the ball around and trying to hit it. The batsman certainly took an affinity to the piece of willow.
And yet, when he made into Lancashire's Under-11 squad, he was a leg-spinner who could bat if and when needed. But he had that sense of timing even then and had the uncanny ability of playing the ball very late. "Probably because I was frail, I could not muscle the ball over the fielders, and thus had to find ways to score runs".
Massive disappointment:
The young man was however not included the England U-19 squad as was understandably gutted. However, he displayed unflappable temperament when he put aside this disappointment and decided to make it big for Lancashire in the forthcoming season.
"I wanted to put my head down, score runs, and put a price on my wicket. I wanted teams to formulate plans for me, and then wanted to test myself against them. This gave me satisfaction and this instilled a sense of belief in me," Hameed said.
What followed was prophetic, almost heroic and unprecedented. A record-breaking season followed, first, he dazzled away against Warwickshire, and then that historic match against Nottinghamshire. People sat up to take notice and the young man was soon being tracked everywhere.
Bangladesh tour:
Incidentally, Hameed was snubbed for the Under-19 squad which toured Bangladesh, and now he returns to Bangladesh as a member of the Three Lions. It could be seen as a culmination of all the hard work, but for the man himself would believe that the journey has just commenced. It is all about building it on, for International cricket is a massive step forward and the scrutiny will be more intense. How he responds to all the attention will go a long way in determining his success.
"For the moment, I feel my game is in a great place, and there is no reason why I cannot score runs,” Hameed says.
Will this be as prophetic, as his predictions after his U-19 snub? England team and fans will certainly hope so, and amidst all the hullabaloo regarding security in Bangladesh, this young man has certainly warmed hearts of many around the world.
Let the games begin!
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