Moody's upgrades Saudi Arabia's credit rating to Aa3 with stable outlook    Riyadh Metro to begin partial operations next Wednesday: Report    Al Okhdood halts Al Shabab's winning streak with a 1-1 draw in Saudi Pro League    Mahrez leads Al Ahli to victory over Al Fayha in Saudi Pro League    Al Qadsiah hands Al Nassr their first defeat in the Saudi Pro League    Saudi musical marvels takes center stage in Tokyo's iconic opera hall    Downing Street indicates Netanyahu faces arrest if he enters UK    London's Gatwick airport reopens terminal after bomb scare evacuation    Civil Defense warns of thunderstorms across Saudi Arabia until Tuesday    Saudi Arabia, Japan strengthen cultural collaboration with new MoU    Slovak president meets Saudi delegation to bolster trade and investment ties    Saudi defense minister meets with Swedish state secretary    Navigating healthcare's future: Solutions for a sustainable system    Al Khaleej qualifies for Asian Men's Club League Handball Championship final    Sixth foreign tourist dies of suspected methanol poisoning in Laos    Katy Perry v Katie Perry: Singer wins right to use name in Australia    Trump picks Pam Bondi as attorney general after Matt Gaetz withdraws    Al-Jasser: Saudi Arabia to expand rail network to over 8,000 km    Sitting too much linked to heart disease –– even if you work out    Denmark's Victoria Kjær Theilvig wins Miss Universe 2024    Order vs. Morality: Lessons from New York's 1977 Blackout    India puts blockbuster Pakistani film on hold    The Vikings and the Islamic world    Filipino pilgrim's incredible evolution from an enemy of Islam to its staunch advocate    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Teenage opener Hameed to make England debut against India
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 09 - 11 - 2016

Teenager Haseeb Hameed will become England's youngest opening batsman when he makes his debut in the first Test against India at Rajkot on Wednesday with Gary Ballance axed for his lack of runs in Bangladesh.
Ben Duckett, who opened for England in last month's drawn two-Test series against Bangladesh, drops down the order to replace Ballance at No. 4.
The 19-year-old Hameed, averages 48.50 in first-class cricket for Lancashire and has four centuries and nine fifties.
"Haseeb has impressed everyone so far on this trip," England captain Cook told reporters, adding that they had yet to decide on their bowling attack as they start the five-Test series.
"You wonder if a 19-year-old, coming on tour, will be overawed but he hasn't been at all. He has looked really good in the nets and the way he has gone about his business. It's obviously a very special day to pick someone so young."
Hameed, whose family roots are in India, will be England's fifth youngest Test cricketer at 19 years and 297 days and the youngest since Ben Hollioake played against Australia in 1997.
All-rounder Hollioake, who was also 19 when he featured at Trent Bridge, is the only other teenager to appear in a Test for England since 18-year-old Brian Close made his debut in 1949.
"He (Hameed) is incredibly unflappable. He looks a very good player of spin. He picks length well and uses the crease well," Cook added of his opening partner in Rajkot.
"Stuart Broad bowled at him last summer and was almost straight on the phone to me saying how impressed he was with this guy.
"It's probably a year earlier than he would have thought. But to average 50-odd as an opener in division one as a 19-year-old is an incredible feat. I was nowhere near the player he is at 19.
"Of course, there will be some tough moments for him over the next few days of playing test cricket, but I think this guy can play."
Ballance scored just 24 runs in four innings in Bangladesh while Duckett struggled in his first three innings before scoring a fighting 56 in Dhaka.
"I feel sorry for Gary," said Cook. "They were tough conditions in Bangladesh and ultimately it's about how many runs you score.
"It's unfortunate for Gary. In his six Test matches back, he hasn't quite scored the runs he would have liked to."
Cook, who had scored three centuries in consecutive tests the last time England were in India, was confident Duckett would be able to adapt to his role in the middle order.
"He's a pretty unflappable character," Cook said. "Historically he has played all his cricket in the middle order until the last year. He's comfortable batting anywhere.
"It's never ideal when you chop and change but he is a fine cricketer."
Indian skipper Virat Kohli insisted he would not haunted by past failures against England when battle resumes on Wednesday, and said he was now a better player than during a nightmare tour two years ago.
But speaking on the eve of the start of a five-Test home series, Kohli said his struggle last time round had helped him improve as a batsman and neither he nor his teammates would dwell on the past. "It was a phase when I did not perform too well," Kohli said.
"It was England but it could have been any other country in the world. It made me realize that I need to up my game. I am thankful to England as I have been a very improved cricketer from thereon. I just take it (that phase) as a setback in my career."
Kohli meanwhile said his team should have no problem adapting to the umpire decision review system (DRS) which India are using for the first time in a home series.
While the other nine Test teams have been using DRS for years, the world's No. 1 Test side had resisted the technology over doubts about its reliability, sparked by a frustrating trial run in 2008.
After technological upgrades to the system, India have now agreed to use DRS for the England series which begins in the western city of Rajkot. — Reuters


Clic here to read the story from its source.