Haseeb Hameed reckons Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum’s attacking message has been heard loud and clear with the County Championship set to catch fire this summer.
And the 26-year-old opener is one of a number of ambitious players who are keen to show that they have the power and the skills to pay the bills at the highest level. Hameed has, of course, already had a taste of Test cricket, most recently in the doomed 21/22 Ashes campaign Down Under when he was overwhelmed by Australia’s pace attack.
Since then though he has helped steer Nottinghamshire back to Division One championship cricket and this winter produced a sparkling 145 from just 172 balls against the full England attack for the Lions in the UAE - an innings that caught the eye of the watching Stokes.
“When you come up against an attack like that and score runs, naturally it is going to give you confidence,” said Hameed.
“The messaging has been so clear from Ben and Brendon, it gives everyone absolute clarity with what they need to do to play for England and that is what I’ll be working towards.
“The message was filtered down to the Lions group that I was involved in and we were encouraged to take it back to the counties and did. Guys are ambitious and want to play for England and they know the brand of cricket they need to play.
“It is a fresh way of looking at batting. I knew that I wanted to put the pressure back on the bowlers and get away from the mindset of surviving. I know that in Australia that was the worst version of me that people saw and naturally people will comment on that and some people will write me off, but I know that I’ve become a better player for that experience and the more I can show that the better."
And Hameed doesn’t need to look too far for inspiration when it comes to returning to England colours and making a success of it.
Ben Duckett was by his side when Hameed made his Test debut back in 2016, but spent six years out of the side until his return in Pakistan this winter. And the Nottinghamshire duo would love to team up again in England colours under the current leadership.
“What Ducky has done in an England shirt this winter has come as no surprise to me because we all know how good a player he is,” said Hameed. “He has shown that over the years here at Notts. We opened the batting together when I first played for England in a warm up match in Bangladesh, and then we were both in the team when I made my debut in India after that.
“People said he couldn’t play spin after that tour, but he is one of the best there is and he has gone and done it and changed perceptions. I love batting with him so it is great to be able to do that together for Notts and if we could do it together for England that would be amazing.”
