Gritty Hameed sends out an Ashes message
THE Ashes may well be back on Haseeb Hameed’s radar.
After a wretched season which has seen him fall down the England Test pecking order, the 20-year-old Lancashire opener is starting to look like his old self.
And during his stoical, battling innings on day two of the Red Rose’s top-of-the-table Specsavers County Chamionship match at Emirates Old Trafford, he showed all the qualities that earned him a Test call last winter.
Short of runs all season, he gritted his teeth, soaked up the pressure caused by a swinging ball being used well by what has been a lethal Essex bowling attack this season, didn’t panic as runs became more and more difficult to find, before playing some stunning shots at the end of the day.
While Lancashire were losing wickets at the other end, Hameed dragged them to 222-8 at the close, having himself reached a season high 85no off 223 balls in five hours and 15 minutes at the crease.
The only chance he gave was on one, when he edged Jamie Porter to Dan Lawrence who couldn’t hold on to the ball while diving low at gully.
Hameed’s team-mates weren’t so lucky, with Alex Davies edging to slip off the third ball of the day, Liam Livingstone and Dave Vilas both going for seven, Shivnarine Chanderpaul perishing on 23 and Jos Buttler for 13.
It left Lancashire on 65-5, and then 92-6 when Ryan McLaren played on to a Simon Harmer delivery.
But through all the chaos, Hameed battled on, at one point scoring just one run in 54 balls, before reaching his halfcentury off 188 deliveries.
And the longer the day went, the more expansive he got, hitting Harmer for a six as he shared stands of 53 with Jordan Clark (20) and 77 with the impressive Stephen Parry (35).
“Clearly you can see more confidence in his play and his body language,” said Lancashire assistant coach Mark Chilton. “That comes with runs. Confidence grows as your innings progresses and you become more fluent.
“The last hour of his innings, that was the Has we have seen in the last two years. No doubt we will see more of that from him.”
With rain having wiped out day one, and more showers forecast over the next two days, a draw looks on the cards which will benefit table-topping Essex more than Lancashire. But the best thing to come out of the game for the Red Rose – and England – could well be the return of Hameed.