Atherton and Hussain praise wonder kid Mehedi Hasan; slam England

Mehedi Hasan was given the new ball for perhaps the first time in Test cricket by skipper Mushfiqur Rahim, nobody knew much about him.He was 19 and he was making his debut. However, 2 Test matches and 19 wickets later, the teenage sensation was walking out of the series with his first ever man of the series trophy.

Of course, Mehedi Hasan is the second wonder kid on the block following the unearthing of Mustafizur Rahman a year ago. The youngster has also managed to earn praise from a few England players. Among these people who have seemingly praised him are former England captains Mike Atherton and Nasser Hussain were the ones to come forward and do so.

Nasser Hussain’s column at the Daily Mail came to life when he first lambasted England for not being able to play spin bowling well.

“It says everything about the dearth of good slow bowlers in England that the four they have chosen in this two-Test series have all been comprehensively outbowled by a 19-year-old newcomer,” said Hussain in his Daily Mail column.

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Mehedi Hasan had never played Test cricket before Chittagong (the first Test) but he took 19 wickets in the series and looked on a different level to England’s spinners, whether it was a 39-year-old in Gareth Batty or a debutant in Zafar Ansari.”

Hussain added: “It is a sad indictment of where we are and the England captain is left scratching his head in the field because he is getting neither control nor wicket-taking potential from his slow bowlers… Young Hasan showed England how to do it.”

Mike Atherton on the other hand, seemed to be impressed with the youngster’s attitude towards plying his trade.

“His excellence put the dismal efforts of England’s spinners, who only bowled eight maidens in the match, into focus,” said Atherton.

“He was particularly devastating against the left-handers who dominated the top order, 13 of his 19 wickets came from their ranks, albeit in conditions that were designed to exploit a traditional English weakness.”

England will now travel to India to play a bevy of five Test matches where they will be put through a baptism of spin bowling, something they have failed in their tour of Bangladesh.

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