‘Opener Channels is tagging the youngster to earn a recall in the Ben Stokes Test squad
England’s warm-up against the Lions in Abu Dhabi last November was an understandable act of selfishness. The Test team needed a lot of preparation ahead of their three-match cricket tour of Pakistan in Sunvalley, and for two of the three-day matches they decided to completely wipe it out. They have got what they need.
Apart from the much-anticipated return of Jofra Archer, who scored nine on the opening day, the opponents were not given much attention. The Test team was 501 for 7, and at the end of two days, the Lions’ score of 415 for 9 was second only to the seniors’ 77-run performance.
However, it was on “three days” that Ben Stokes, who was watching what was happening at the time, singled out a lion that caught his eye. The Prime Minister of England knows the game, but he may not like it.
“He’s someone you don’t have for these kind of innings,” Stokes said of Haseeb Hameed, who made 145 off 172 deliveries against an attack that featured James Anderson, Ollie Robinson and Jack Leach. “It’s amazing to see a player like Has, who has been doing what he’s been doing for five or six years, realize that he can play in this way, against our attack in face.”
He is involved as the scoreboard suggests: a strike rate of 84.30 to 20 fours and some sixes. There is a small amount of construction, which has an incredible “doesn’t come off” when it is placed on the pavement of the first door. But no, Hameed is an authoritative presence in the middle.
A new dawn for a player once celebrated – and more recently mocked – for his high knees and low breathing rate? It’s not enough. Even Stokes noted how the blast was a continuation of Hameed’s summer career: 1,235 runs at an average of 58.80 to propel Nottinghamshire into the First Division. All at a strike rate of 62.40 – almost double what he was in his 10 Test careers (32.02) and higher than his career-high 41.59 in all first-class cricket.
Speaking ahead of the Sri Lanka Lions tour, during which he will serve as the captain for the Red Flames in a four-day match against Sri Lanka A, Hameed was grateful for Stokes’ words are open to this move. Fewer gears around – especially after a disappointing 2021-22 in which he scored just 10 in four appearances. “For him [Stokes] to come out and say that means a lot to me,” Hameed said. “It’s good because I think the changes he made in the England team matched the changes I made on a personal level in terms of the game. “I came back from the tour of Australia and I’m sure that I have to approach my game and start looking to find marks at every opportunity and come to the fact that everyone is coming out. Especially against some of the biggest players. well. the best footballers in the world. You will face a good ball that will make you come out as other balls you can try to collect and, in your style, score and put the enemy under pressure, that’s what I tried to do.
“I think some people said ‘he had a bad trip, he’s done’. My opinion is different. I am 25 years old now, and I have a lot of opportunities to learn in this journey. Why can’t I be better? It did, but it wasn’t a perfect journey”
Some of the “doings” are not on the net in the form of conversations with important people. Men’s cricket manager Rob Key, Test coach Brendon McCullum and performance manager Mo Bobat, the Lions’ program manager, were interviewed over the summer about Hameed’s position at the top and what to do next. do to continue. From that came clarity of value and, ultimately, purpose. Hameed enters 윈윈벳 2023 with a clear idea of what is required, both progress and change. “I had a conversation with Rob Key in the summer about where I was and how things were looking for me and all that sort of thing. He said that for the England team what’s important is this idea of getting the pressure when it’s needed and then can apply pressure at different times. Once you have waited a little while, be confident and strong enough to take your chances in the middle and the fact that you will be prepared for it.
“Maybe the challenge for some people is to be able to show that part. I wish I could show the team for Nottinghamshire in the summer and the games [for the Lions] are still going away. In that sense, it’s good for people to see this up close. I’m confident and I’m confident that this game is in me, so I’m optimistic.”
This is not new for Hameed, but it is a kind of comeback.
Much of what England have done well since the start of last summer is to regain the style of play that is the hallmark of youth – an understandable way to cover the clouds from the professional. It is important to note that before he made his Test debut in 2016, Hameed had a lot of whiteball cricket in his diet. The highlight was the Under-19 ODI 맥스88 series against South Africa in 2014 when, at the age of 17, he became the top scorer in the series with 389 runs at 77.80. As he himself says, much of what has happened since is his attempt to try and emulate the way Test cricket was played at the time.
“I think it’s interesting because you have your test opening, which is what I try to play. But there’s also a part of me – that maybe few people have seen now – that takes me back to my childhood. Showing a part of me that probably many people haven’t seen in this post. A player who likes to hit the ball, hit the shots and make the difference in my way of playing shine.
“You forget how much you love the game, and everything is more fun [again]. Obviously with this, you have to accept that you will make mistakes, but I think it starts with practice. You have to prepare yourself that way. “I remember when I was 16, I scored two hundreds in one day in two T20s playing for my school, and it was fun. The shot finds you because you have that intention and over time you will realize that it is shot inside you and when you have that thought, they find you instead of going looking for them. .
“I had a lot of success in white cricket growing up, so I feel like a lot of those qualities are in me. I always try to give myself the best chance to bring them out because they are there.”
As for when we might get a glimpse of Hameed’s new venture, the next month in Asia will be mostly about supporting the forces that have long been known against the revolution – and could put him on the path to becoming a sponsor. background for England’s five matches. series against India in early 2024, behind Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett… READ MORE
Stability and pacing remains a question mark when it comes to an appearance in the 2023 Ashes later this summer, although noticeable improvements have been noted in the UAE. The Dubai Lions Stadium in front of England’s warm-up game gave Hameed the opportunity to show stability in the hand of the foot against the rapids, especially in the period against Anderson and Archer.