HAMEED FACES TOUGHEST TEST
Opener fighting to revive England career after 17 months of struggle
NAME the England opening batsman who on his last appearance hit an unbeaten Test match half-century lauded for both its skill and bravery but was not picked again.
The mind need not be cast back far. Seventeen months ago, it was unthinkable that Haseeb Hameed would not have added to his three England caps before this summer’s return series with India. Prior to leaving the subcontinent in December 2016 there was tea with Sachin Tendulkar, kudos from Virat Kohli.
Still in his teens, an international career spanning two decades beckoned when, with a shattered finger on his left hand, he defied the pain and India in Mohali. Here was a player with the temperament to succeed and the will of the country behind him to do so.
All that the England hierarchy required once his finger was fixed was a reason to select him again. Any semblance of form would have done. Unfortunately, however, he has yet to produce one: a return of 512 County Championship runs last summer at an average of only 28.5, followed by a sequence of 3, 19, 8, 1 and 4 this.
The 21-year-old’s most recent failure on Saturday — a defensive push that flew to first slip — came in a contest that pitted him against Mark Stoneman, the England opening incumbent he began 2018 trying to dislodge. Stoneman himself was bowled for a duck yesterday as the search for any top-order batsman to pile on the runs goes on.
There have been mitigating circumstances, of course. This has been a particularly soggy start to the season and seam bowlers have gorged themselves.
‘Opening the batting in April in the conditions that we’ve had hasn’t been easy for anybody, really. There is so much moisture around,’ says Lancashire assistant coach Mark Chilton. ‘I sat down with Has a few days ago to chat about how he’s getting on and he’s fine. He’s obviously a bit disappointed because he felt confident coming out of pre-season and what we have seen in practice ice has been fantastic, really. His attention to detail is second to none.
‘ From a coaching g perspective it would be better if he could concentrate on getting runs for Lancs without carrying this “potential England” tag. Because the place e hasn’t necessarily been n nailed down and there e is a squad to be picked d for the Pakistan series, two or three people will be aware that if they score runs in this batch of games they will put themselves in the mix.
‘That’s quite a lot to carry with you every time you go to the crease. How much that would affect an individual is difficult to know.’
One decision Hameed believes will help him rediscover his best is to up the one-on-one work he does with his father, Ismail.
‘By experiencing the highs of 2016 and the lows of last year, you look at things in hindsight at what I might have done differently,’ Hameed said recently.
‘I find that when I have worked with my dad and follow his guidance, my game has been in better shape. You need that one person, which is something that has hit home to me. You can’t take all the information offered to you from everyone. Most people have good intentions with what they say, but it might not necessarily work for you.’
Hameed retains supporters in high places too. England Lions coach Andy Flower singled him out for praise on a low- scoring tour of the Caribbean this year, and argued an innings of 39 spanning a dozen minutes utes shy of t two hours, versus West Indies A in the first ‘Test’ was worth considerably more. H Hameed acquitted himself se well against the Windies’ series- defining spinners but the size of his contribution t was restricted due to his preference f for keeping the ball on t the carpet. Unfortunately, na the one at Trelawny aw was of the shagpile pile variety, slowing up stroke strokes that made it through the infield infield. Not that everyone is a fan. Only last week one senior county pro was privately questioning an over-hyped technique and highlighting a limited range of stroke.
However, the majority of those in the English game will hope that the most likeable of Lancashire lads proves such observations a fallacy and wins that elusive fourth cap sooner rather than later.