Hameed faces fight to retain Test place
Lancashire batsman needs runs for Lions In-form Stoneman can impress the selectors
Haseeb Hameed made such an impact last winter in India that his Test place appeared as safe as his forward defensive but a combination of poor form and the emergence of others has put him in a fight to stay in the England team for the forthcoming series against South Africa.
Hameed is one of four openers playing for the England Lions in a four-day game against South Africa A starting today at Canterbury, with Mark Stoneman, Keaton Jennings and Nick Gubbins all chasing two possible spots in the Test side.
Hameed has not made a fifty in the championship this summer for Lancashire and is not in the top 50 run-scorers in the country. The golden boy has endured a secondseason dip as he works on correcting his technique against seamers moving the ball away.
It was not a problem that surfaced in India, where Hameed felt at home as an excellent player of spin. But on early-season county pitches he has had issues against seam and, like so many young players, had to work on a weakness that has been exposed in their second season after bowling attacks have had time to study their game.
Jennings has also had an up-anddown season in Division Two for Durham. He has scored one century but has not reached 50 in his past nine championship innings.
Inconsistency is to be expected from young players but both Hameed, 20, and Jennings, 25, need a big score over the next two weeks because creeping self-doubt could be very costly against South Africa’s Morne Morkel and Kagiso Rabada.
Meanwhile, Stoneman has emerged as the form opener in county cricket. He is averaging 57.33 for Surrey, has just scored a career-best 197 at Guildford and fully justified his move from Durham to play on better batting pitches. At 29, he has had to wait for his first Lions call-up and admits he starts this week behind Jennings and Hameed in the pecking order, but that could change with a good performance in front of the selectors and England batting coaches Mark Ramprakash and Graham Thorpe.
Gubbins is batting at four at Canterbury, a sign he is lower down in the selectors’ thoughts. With Joe Root favouring a move back to No4, it leaves Stoneman, Jennings and Hameed vying for the two spots in the top three alongside Alastair Cook. Next week the Lions play against the full South Africa team at New Road after which the squad for the first Test will be picked.
Andy Flower, the Lions’ head coach, said: “He [Hameed] has had a quiet time but this is another opportunity to show what he can do. He is a very talented, smart and level-headed young guy and I am pretty sure he has a great future.
“He has had a testing time this summer. He had a great start with England last winter and showed the temperament to handle the big occasion and played spinners well but has found it more testing against the seamers this summer. These are the challenges that will hopefully make him a better player for England this summer. Getting through tough times can make you stronger.”
The second batting vacancy in the Test side is potentially at No5. Gary Ballance has made the strongest case for a recall with a strong season for Yorkshire. He is likely to play for them in the round of floodlit games next week rather than appear for the Lions at New Road, but Liam Livingstone, Sam Northeast and Tom Westley are in line to be picked and are candidates for the final middle-order position.
“These matches offer growth opportunities, learning opportunities but also help with the selection process,” said Flower. “It is one thing playing a really good standard of first-class cricket, but it is another thing coming together in an England group knowing that the selectors are watching.”