Haseeb Hameed's finger injury a huge jolt to his Ashes call-up

English opener Haseeb Hameed received a huge blow when he fractured his finger midway through the third day of the First Division game at Lord’s, on Thursday. The right-hander was forced to retire after being hit on the gloves off a James Harris delivery. However, even with an injury he came out to save the match for his county side- Lancashire, but couldn’t avoid the defeat, as there was no support from the rest of the team. The finger injury is a big concern for the young cricketer, as it casts serious doubts over his Ashes call-up.

Middlesex won the game by 26 runs, despite the patience and courage shown by Hameed in the second innings with a fractured finger. English seamer Steven Finn picked up 8 wickets to help his team manage a convincing victory. After the match, the county side confirmed the injury through a statement on their Twitter handle.

Hameed’s short impressive career so far

Hameed last played for England in the third Test against India, last year, before getting injured for the rest of the series. Due to the injury, Keaton Jennings was called up as a replacement and he impressed everyone with an incredible hundred on debut at Mumbai.

However, after a convincing tour of India, Jennings failed poorly in the home series against South Africa. Presently, Hameed’s only competitor for the opening slot in the England Test side seems to be Mark Stoneman for the upcoming Ashes series.

The 20-year old Hameed was quite impressive in the first Test match against India at Rajkot, where he scored 82 runs. He suffered a finger injury in the third Test but came out to bat in the second innings with a hope to save the match for his side and scored 59 runs. However, his resilience and patience couldn’t help them avoid a defeat.

It seems to be a challenging situation for the young talented English opener who hopes for a promising future in the English Test side. The selectors are expected to meet next week to draw up the squad for the upcoming Ashes, will be keen to know the condition of Hameed’s injury.