The Nottinghamshire batsman last played for his country during the miserable 2021/22 Ashes tour of Australia, during which he managed just 80 runs in eight innings
Haseeb Hameed is ready to show he has the game to fit into England's Test revolution under Ben Stokes.
The Nottinghamshire batsman last played for his country during the miserable 2021/22 Ashes tour of Australia, during which he managed just 80 runs in eight innings.
But he enjoyed a steady campaign in the 2022 County Championship, accumulating 1,238 runs at an average of 58, and is now targeting a senior recall, with a trip to Sri Lanka with England Lions the first step of the journey.
England's fortunes have changed considerably since Hameed's most recent inclusion in the national squad: the arrival of Brendon McCullum as head coach and elevation of Ben Stokes to the captaincy has brought 10 wins from 11 matches and a complete about shift in how the team plays the game.
Haseeb Hameed is looking to earn an England Test recall [Getty Images]
Hameed last played for England in the 2021/22 Ashes [Getty Images]
Hameed, previously known as an attritional batsman, capable of eating time and deliveries at the crease, is confident he can still fit the bill, though.
Reflecting on that ill-fated tour of Australia, he said: "We (England) went into our shells a bit. We got a bit defensive, a bit 'survival mode' and as a result we all suffered. Now it's almost like, if in doubt you take the other option, you try and put the pressure back on them. You take the positive option and you'll be backed for it.
"That's a key change in our cricket system in general. The interesting thing for me is it coincides with a similar shift that I've made at a similar time. You have your typical Test match opener, which is what I was trying to play like before, but there is also a side of me – which maybe a few more people have seen now – which takes me back to my junior days… a side that enjoys hitting the ball."
HASEEB HAMEED: TEST CAREERMatches: 10Innings: 19Runs: 439Average: 24.3850s: 4100s: 0HS: 82
A lack of fear was critical in last summer's successes against New Zealand, India and South Africa, as well as the away whitewash of Pakistan in December.
"Especially against some of the best bowlers in the world you're going to face good balls that will get you out, so the other balls you may as well try to cash in, score runs and put the opposition under pressure – which is what I've tried to do," Hameed said.
"I took that into the season with Notts and it was a good season for me."
Hameed's growing maturity in the game - he has captained Notts in white-ball cricket and will skipper the Lions in Sri Lanka - is another tick in his selection box.
England have had a change of fortune under Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes [Getty Images]
Hameed will captain England Lions in Sri Lanka [Getty Images]
But to get back into the Test side he will have to force his way past either Zak Crawley, a darling of the current management, and his Nottinghamshire team-mate Ben Duckett, who returned to the England side with 357 runs at 71 in Pakistan.
Still, at 26, Hameed is confident he has plenty of time to make his move.
"The way I look at things, I had one bad tour," he said.
"But a lot of very, very good players have had one bad tour. Why can't I get better? It’s happened, but it’s not the complete journey. I'm not 35, 36, Inshallah I've got another 15 years of cricket left in me.
"I'm hoping a long period of that is playing international cricket for England, that has never changed."
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