'Haseeb Hameed belongs at Test level after first England half-century'
Sunday 13 November 2016 03:41, UK
Debutant Haseeb Hameed looks right at home at Test level, says Nasser Hussain.
The teenage opener struck his maiden England half-century on day four of the first Test against India, helping the tourists to 114-0 at stumps - an overall lead of 163.
The 19-year-old followed his impressive first-innings 31 with an unbeaten 62 off 116 balls with one six and five fours - skipper Alastair Cook contributing 46no to the stand - and Hussain said the knocks had helped to transform pre-Test perceptions about Hameed's game.
"It's a brilliant, brilliant start from the young man," said the former England skipper.
"We all had Hameed down as a bit of a blocker - someone who would go into his shell - so there was a bit of concern about whether the combination of Hameed and Cook would be able to get England off to a flying start.
"Instead they went after India. They played beautifully - the tempo of the partnership was superb.
"Hameed's footwork is well-drilled. He comes from a family that has cricket in its blood; he was born with a cricket bat in his hand.
"We've seen him around the traps here and he walks around as if he belongs on this stage. He's not meek, quiet and under the shadow of all the senior players.
"His demeanour suggests 'this is my stage, I'm going to show you what I'm going to do' and he did.
"He popped down the pitch to Ravindra Jadeja, who is not the easiest bowler to do that to, and smashed him over the top for six; when mid-off went back, he pushed him for one.
"He also went down the track to Ravichandran Ashwin and pushed through the off-side. He did get in a bit of discomfort when Ashwin attacked from around the wicket but on this pitch you are occasionally going to struggle."
India made a decent fist of responding to England's first-innings score of 537, but ultimately fell 49 runs short despite 70 from Ravi Ashwin to finish on 488 as Adil Rashid returned 4-114.
The leg-spinner's performance stood out - Sky Sports pundit Sir Ian Botham among several to say it was the best Rashid has bowled in an England shirt - but Hussain was also quick to praise the combined impact of the visiting attack.
"It sounds odd to say that England bowled brilliantly when the opposition get 480 but I can barely remember a period where they weren't in control of the run-rate," said Hussain.
"Rashid was so good in this innings; it was an excellent effort all round from England. Although he ended up wicketless, Chris Woakes was absolutely exceptional. It set the tone and Hameed and Cook continued the momentum."
Live Test Cricket
Watch highlights of day four at 3pm and 9.30pm on Sky Sports 3, followed by The Verdict on the same channel at 4pm and 10.30pm.
