The comment comes after regulars Rory Burns and Dominic Sibley again failed to impress in the opening Test, in what has been a disappointing year for the duo. The England boss lauded Hameed’s Championship performance this season, saying the 24-year-old is making a “very strong case”.
On the other hand, England’s top-order has been terribly out of form this year. While openers Burns and Sibley average 31.40 and 21.56 respectively, No. 3 Zak Crawley’s figure is a meagre 11.14. Additionally, there has been just one century between them across 42 innings.
Hameed played 3 Tests in his debut series, which interestingly was a tour of India in 2016. The then 19-year-old had impressed one and all with his gritty show – even batting with an injured finger – amassing 219 runs at an astounding average of 43.8.
“I appreciate it’s a different format, but he’s showing us what he can do” – England boss lauds Moeen Ali
England suffered a major blow even before the five-Test series began when star all-rounder Ben Stokes pulled out of the assignment to cater to his mental health. The development thus ruined the balance of the side and Joe Root was forced to play just four specialised bowlers to strengthen the already-fragile batting line-up.
Chris Silverwood hasn’t ruled out recalling spin all-rounder Moeen Ali for the Lord’s Test after he was initially left out of the 17-man squad for the first two matches.
Ali has scored 130 runs and picked 3 wickets in 5 games for the Birmingham Phoenix in the inaugural edition of the ongoing 100-ball tournament.
England were saved from the jaws of defeat at Trent Bridge as persistent rain washed out the final day. The frailties, though, have been laid bare, and be it the addition of Haseeb Hameed or Moeen Ali, England need to plug the holes to put up a concerted effort at Lord’s.
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