Alviro Petersen on the superb season of Hasseb Hameed
HASEEB Hameed has the ability to ‘reinvent’ Test cricket according to Alviro Petersen, who has watched Lancashire’s golden boy grow into a man before his very eyes at the county.
But the former South Africa international has warned against placing too much, too soon on the 19- year- old’s shoulders ahead of a possible England call-up this winter.
Without taking into account his age, Hameed has proved one of the best County Championship operators this year after cracking four centuries – and more than 1,100 runs – through 14 games so far.
Alex Hales is running out of lives to nail down an opening Test spot and earlier this week England coach Trevor Bayliss revealed Hameed’s tender years would not count against him ahead of selection for the trips to Bangladesh and India.
But while there is no bigger proponent of Hameed’s talents, Peterson believes it unnecessary to pile on any pressure.
“I can tell you he’s the real deal,” said Peterson. “Even after he played a couple of games last year in Division Two, I said he’d play Test cricket and this guy would reinvent Test cricket.
“His first instinct isn’t to score runs as quickly as possible; it is to occupy the crease and his skill of the game will be at the forefront of Test cricket.
“But I think we should give him some space as well and allow him to go through ups and downs – because there’s no doubt he will play for England. If he gets a few disappointing results, all of a sudden you lose everything in terms of confidence.
“It depends which direction they want to go, if it’s a longterm thing. Jacques Kallis averaged about ten after his first few Tests with South Africa. The best need time.”
Like Cook, who had to wait until the grand age of 21 to make his Test debut, Hameed accumulates his runs with the patience of a saint.
And Peterson added: “I think players like ( Hameed) will come back into Test cricket – they are the rocks in the batting line-ups and his skills are conducive to the format.
“Guys like Davey Warner are great at what they do, but too often teams are two wickets down with ten or 15 overs gone.” Peterson is also likely to face a momentous winter after admitting he has plenty to mull over once he is finished guiding Lancashire to safety in Division One.
The 35-year-old, who has also broken the 1,000- run barrier in the County Championship, hinted that retirement could be his next move with a family back in South Africa to prioritise.
“There are still a lot of things to be discussed between me, my family and also the club about how we want to move forward,” he explained.
“We have got a baby girl on the way in October and I also have a three-and-a-half year old, who is starting to realise Daddy is away a lot and asks questions.
“So as much as I love playing for Lancashire, I’m always going to be a man first and then a cricketer. We will see how it goes, but first I want to keep Lancashire in Division One.”
But with or without his presence next year – Peterson is convinced that Lancashire have a lot more to give.
He said: “It’s a world- class club, the best in the world in my view.
“When you walk in every day, the facilities are amazing – you don’t go into many changing rooms that also have a swimming pool and a gym.
“The history, the supporters, the members and the players make you feel at home, and the camaraderie between the players help the club pull in the right direction.
“Personally, I don’t think we have had a good year. We didn’t qualify for the t20 after winning the year before, nor the one-day cup, and we are struggling to stay up.
But there are some positives – there are some very good young players coming through. The future is bright.”