Young opener Haseeb Hameed in line to return to England line-up after 5 years, Moeen Ali also in contention for Lord’s Test

England head coach Chris Silverwood has hinted that young opener Haseeb Hameed is very much in contention to play his first Test in five years when the hosts square off against India in the second match at Lord’s starting Thursday (August 12).

The comment comes after regulars Rory Burns and Dominic Sibley again failed to impress in the opening Test, in what has been a disappointing year for the duo. The England boss lauded Hameed’s Championship performance this season, saying the 24-year-old is making a “very strong case”.

“He is making a very strong case. He’s done everything he possibly can to be ready. What he did early season in the Championship shows there’s a lot of class there. He put his best foot forward in Durham when he scored that hundred [112 off 246] – it shows he can cope against this [India] attack," said the England coach.

“At some point, we will have to make a decision and give him an opportunity. I’m confident that he’s as ready as he could be,” Silverwood spoke of Hameed, who scored 642 runs at an average of 45.85 for Nottinghamshire in the County Championship this summer.

On the other hand, England’s top-order has been terribly out of form this year. While openers Burns and Sibley average 31.40 and 21.56 respectively, No. 3 Zak Crawley’s figure is a meagre 11.14. Additionally, there has been just one century between them across 42 innings.

Hameed played 3 Tests in his debut series, which interestingly was a tour of India in 2016. The then 19-year-old had impressed one and all with his gritty show – even batting with an injured finger – amassing 219 runs at an astounding average of 43.8.

We've named a 17-player squad for the opening two Tests of the LV= Insurance Test Series against India.🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 #ENGvIND 🇮🇳

— England Cricket (@englandcricket) July 21, 2021

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“I appreciate it’s a different format, but he’s showing us what he can do” – England boss lauds Moeen Ali

Birmingham Phoenix captain Moeen Ali smashed a 26-ball 49 against the Oval Invincibles in their last game

England suffered a major blow even before the five-Test series began when star all-rounder Ben Stokes pulled out of the assignment to cater to his mental health. The development thus ruined the balance of the side and Joe Root was forced to play just four specialised bowlers to strengthen the already-fragile batting line-up.

Chris Silverwood hasn't ruled out recalling spin all-rounder Moeen Ali for the Lord’s Test after he was initially left out of the 17-man squad for the first two matches.

“You take a Ben Stokes out of that squad and it makes it hard to balance. It poses problems for us...We know he [Moeen Ali] is a fine cricketer. He’s showing fine form in The Hundred. I appreciate it’s a different format, but he’s showing us what he can do,” Silverwood added during the online media interaction on Monday.

Ali has scored 130 runs and picked 3 wickets in 5 games for the Birmingham Phoenix in the inaugural edition of the ongoing 100-ball tournament.

England were saved from the jaws of defeat at Trent Bridge as persistent rain washed out the final day. The frailties, though, have been laid bare, and be it the addition of Haseeb Hameed or Moeen Ali, England need to plug the holes to put up a concerted effort at Lord’s.

UPDATE: Play has been abandoned. ☹️The first #ENGvIND Test at Trent Bridge ends in a draw. We will see you at Lord's for the second Test, starting on August 12. #TeamIndia Scorecard 👉 https://t.co/TrX6JMzP9A pic.twitter.com/k9G7t1WiaB

— BCCI (@BCCI) August 8, 2021