SAM DALLING AT LORD'S: The England opener's poor Ashes returns means this summer will likely be spent in a Nottinghamshire shirt. And that is no bad thing.
The sun had not long risen when Haseeb Hameed made his way to the Nursery Ground, bat in hand, where Ant Botha would be on the slinger dutifully testing his defences.
As it transpired, the willow would rarely leave Hameed’s grip until 5.10pm. He would then depart to a standing ovation, 112 runs to his name and having contributed in two large stands.
The first was worth 99 with Ben Duckett (43), the second 117 with Nottinghamshire skipper Steven Mullaney (92*) whose side enjoyed the best of the opening day. By the time bad light brought an early close they'd reached 329 for 5.
Spare a thought for Toby Roland-Jones, who somehow finished wicketless after 23 frugal overs. His closest call came with stump approaching, as a Tom Moores nick fell short of slip. It summed up his day.
Notts' innings was built on Hameed’s building blocks. A chanceless knock soaked up 217 balls and contained a dozen boundaries. It was as fluent as Hameed has been this summer. Luck has not smiled upon him at times. A few close lbw shouts have gone the bowler’s way, while he was also run out at the non-striker’s end batting with Duckett against Glamorgan.
(Alex Davidson/Getty Images)
But at Lord’s, no luck was required. The covers were punctuated with a flourish, while anything short was cut. He took a shine to, well, everyone. A slight off-side preference, but a wagon wheel with lines at all angles confirmed Hameed is a difficult man to contain at his best.
Hameed reached fifty on the stroke of lunch, and almost timed his century with the next interval. A dance at Josh de Caires took him to 96 but he could only manage a single before tea. Three figures arrived with the first ball of the evening session.
Impressive as his boundaries were, it was Hameed’s non-scoring shots that indicated assurance. There is a flamboyance to his leaving - a touch of Luke Skywalker about it. But he knew precisely where his off-stump was, and willingly left. Roland-Jones will attest to that.
Roland-Jones, who else, brought the one false stroke - although it is sometimes difficult to tell whether Hameed has left or prodded. An unexpected swoosh on 72 was an outlier.
Perhaps word had reached Hameed that Brendon McCullum had been appointed England men's Test head coach. Imitation, they say, is the best form of flattery. Quickly, Hameed re-settled, a wristy-ish on-drive racing to the boundary.
"It was a day that will not live fondly in Peter Handscomb’s memory. The decision to bowl first, with blue sky and a cracking looking pitch was odd."
Some ghosts exercised then. Hameed’s Test recall came on this ground last summer. All the hype, all the expectation and then done by both slope and Mohammed Siraj (largely the latter). A pair of half-centuries earned him an ill-fated Ashes ticket but 80 runs at 10 in four matches means this summer will likely be spent in a Nottinghamshire shirt.
And that is no bad thing. For a player of Hameed’s calibre, a top score of 122 of 155 red-ball knocks is below par. This was only his ninth first-class hundred. He will hope there is a third coming; aged just 25 he still has Father Time with him.
His move to Nottinghamshire was required. The runs had dried up, and the weight of expectation - self-imposed standards as much as anything - sat heavy. The 19-year-old who looked every bit a Test cricketer in India was lost. But under Peter Moores at Trent Bridge there has been a re-birth, a smile re-appearing behind that mane. His 944 red-ball runs last season was comfortably his best since a breakout 2016. In fact, it was 161 more than his previous three summers combined.
It was a day that will not live fondly in Peter Handscomb’s memory. The decision to bowl first, with blue sky and a cracking looking pitch was odd. Perhaps an element of fear of Nottinghamshire’s attack? A wicket in the first over of the day, Ben Slater falling to Tim Murtagh, was followed by a lengthy wait for number two.
Handscomb then dropped Ben Duckett on four. A man in his Duckett’s form - he had passed fifty in his previous five innings - seemed likely to punish such a mistake. Murtagh was promptly hit for two further boundaries in the same over. Middlesex were rhythmically challenged.
(Alex Davidson/Getty Images)
Fortunately for Handscomb, whatever Ethan Bamber had for lunch did the trick. Seven balls of the afternoon session was all it took for Duckett to nick behind to John Simpson.
The following over, Joe Clarke - who often seems frenetic at the start of his innings - drove at a wider one and dragged on. Lyndon James made a spritely 21 in front of his watching parents before tickling Martin Andersson. The all-rounder would also get Hameed.
Middlesex missed Shaheen Shah Afridi sorely. A rest was pencilled in but as Murtagh released the match’s first delivery, so too Middlesex confirmed he was returning to Pakistan to spend time with family before a bi-lateral series with Australia. He will be back in time for the final throes of the Blast group stage but it is a blow to Middlesex’s promotion hopes.
That same Nursery Ground that served Hameed so well in the early hours then played host to 1,000 secondary school children for the remainder of the day. The previous match against Leicestershire saw a couple of thousand juniors attend, and this time it was their senior peers’ turn.
Interactive quizzes, tours of the infamous home of cricket, activities run by the Middlesex participation team and some fine county action to take in. Such was their enthusiasm, the radio effects microphone needed turning down a notch or two. Middlesex is a club taking diversity and inclusion seriously. And it is wonderful to see.
Jon Lewis may have come for Stuart Broad, but he stayed for Hameed.
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