Haseeb Hameed, the 20-year-old prodigy, who underwent two operations – on his nose, to help his breathing, and on his right little finger – contributed a classy 47 to Lancashire’s 319 on the opening day of the Specsavers County Championship season. Batting was not exactly what it will be against Australia in Perth but there were similarities with what Hameed will face this winter.
“It’s nice to get a bit of a start and I think we did quite well to get to the score we did,” Hameed said. Both Hameed and Keaton Jennings have thrown their helmets into the ring by saying they would like to open for England with Alastair Cook, who is missing this game to rest his left hip, while adding diplomatically they would be happy to bat anywhere.
Hameed is an outstanding “leaver.” He either lets the new ball pass or scores off it, not necessarily an attacking shot, maybe a push and a scamper. Sure, he made a misjudgment here after lunch when a ball from Jamie Porter seamed back and hit the top of his off stump, and he was similarly bowled once in the two Lions ‘Tests’ in Sri Lanka, when he made only 33 runs. But Hameed still plots the ball’s future trajectory so accurately that he leaves – a crucial skill against the new ball in Australia – with a veteran’s maturity.
A decent score was welcome for Hameed as Mark Stoneman was demonstrating that anyone who can make runs in Durham can rack up millions at the Oval: he marked his Surrey debut with 165. But Hameed and Jennings, having averaged 43 and 41 respectively in India, are guaranteed to start against South Africa, even with three months to go.
England’s batting coach, Mark Ramprakash, was also able to catch up on the forthright Liam Livingstone, who was promoted to No 3 to develop his technique on the strength of his Lions winter. Anyone who can make two centuries in a match in Sri Lankan conditions has remarkable powers, and if Livingstone can maintain his career graph, as a batsman and a spinner, he too might tour Australia.
Whereas Hameed caressed the ball through the covers with soft hands, Livingstone whacked it with quick hands – or thick-edged to slip for 28 off 34 balls. His best shot was actually to his second ball which he drove through mid-wicket with breathtaking poise and nonchalance.
