New England star Haseeb Hameed backed to stay grounded by Ashley Giles
Tuesday 15 November 2016 09:05, UK
Ashley Giles is sure teenage sensation Hasseb Hameed has the temperament to cope with his speedy rise to prominence with England.
The Lancashire opener made his Test debut against India in Rajkot last week and scored 113 runs in his first match, including a fine innings of 82 second time up as England looked to build a big lead.
Hameed quickly looked at home alongside captain Alastair Cook at the top of the England order and his performance caused plenty of excitement from team-mates, coaches and supporters alike.
And Giles, who works alongside Hameed in his role as Lancashire's director of cricket, is sure the 19-year-old from Bolton can cope with his new found stardom.
Giles told Sky Sports News HQ: "It's great for England and they seem to have found a partner for Alastair Cook at the top of the order.
"He looked almost like a senior partner opening the batting and it is great to see him enjoying it. And it's fantastic for him to get that 50.
"It's probably accelerated a bit quicker than any of us could have thought. They call him the 'Baby Boycott' because he has all the shots and he can play them all.
"People are all already talking about him already that he is going to be around for 10 to 15 years and we all hope he is.
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"The important thing, and the conversations we had before he left, was concentrating on what he does, to do his job really well, concentrate on getting better, working with the coaches and the senior players and focus on that process.
"There is a lot of stuff on the outside that can get in your head - media, papers, social media - but he just needs to concentrate on his job and I am pretty sure he will do."
