England call is a long way off, insists Hameed
HASEEB HAMEED insists that he is ignoring the hype that surrounds him as the teenage opener bids to forge a long and successful first-class career.
Hameed has not hidden his desire to play for England one day, but he knows that the reality is that an international debut is still a long way off.
He is 19 and has not yet played ten first-class matches.
Still, the signs are good for the young Boltonian, who recently signed a four-year contract at Emirates Old Trafford.
Hameed has long been talked about as a star of the future, going back as far as his days as a junior in the Bolton League.
That talk shows no signs of diminishing.
He has scored four fifties in nine first-class matches, including a best of 91 against Surrey in Division Two last September.
In the Division One fixture between the two this week, he added 44 in an opening stand of 99 with Tom Smith to take his career tally of Championship runs to 497 at 38.23.
“I don’t really think about it too much,” said the right-hander of the England tips that have come from the likes of head coach Ashley Giles and fellow top-order batsman Alviro Petersen, the former South Africa opener.
“I realise that if you perform well at different levels, you’re going to get spoken about.
“But the key is to put in performances, and the only way to do that is to stay focused in the now as opposed to looking at the past or the future.”
Hameed’s approach to batting is simple. He values his wicket highly and looks a million dollars doing it even though he will know that rotation of the strike is something that he can improve.
He will be as technically correct as any batsman on the county circuit.
Nicknamed the Great Wall of Bolton by his captain Steven Croft, he has already been compared favourably to Mike Atherton and Rahul Dravid.
“Sachin Tendulkar was my idol,” he continued. “It’s nice to have idols, but you’ve got to make sure you’re authentic in the way that you play.
“It’s been nice to start well. When you do make the step up, like I did last year, it’s always a case of making sure you continue doing your things.
“I guess a few scores act as reassurance that the things that I’ve done to get to this level are working.
“You can also feel like you need to prove to people that you’re worthy of a place in the side, so it’s always nice to contribute.
“I realise that I’m still 19 and I’ve got a lot of learning to do. I learn something new every time I go out to the crease about myself, the opposition or grounds that I play at.
“I think it’s also important to make sure you’re not looking too far ahead too early.
“Of course, you’d love to play the perfect innings and score 100 off 80 balls every time you go out to bat, but it doesn’t work like that.
“For me, it’s about continuing to develop my game whilst sticking to what I do.”
Hameed will get his first taste of Roses cricket this weekend when the early-season pace-setters travel to Headingley to take on the champions in a match starting on Sunday.
Although all the winter talk was of Lancashire battling to avoid an immediate return to Division Two, the squad was adamant it could live up to loftier ambitions.
Now others are starting to believe in them after a stunning start to the campaign.
“There are 45 or 46 days left in the season. It’s a long time, but if we continue to play that way, we’ll be there and thereabouts,” added Giles.