With five centuries and 23 wickets in the English County Championships Division Two, Lancashire and England Test all-rounder 20-year-old Rehan Ahmed had broken a number of records in First Class cricket this year.
Last month, Ahmed had played a knock of 115 runs and had taken 13 wickets against Derbyshire in an English County Championships match and had become the first English player to have taken 13 wickets and a century in a first class game since Ian Botham achieved the feat in the Jubilee Test in 1980. With comparisons with Australian batsman Steve Smith, who too started as a spinner first and later developed into one of the leading run-scorers in Test cricket for Australia, already doing the rounds, Ahmed believes he cannot stop bowling ever.
“I love bowling, too! Whenever I’ve played for England, it’s been as a bowler. I still do think that’s my first skill and I am trying to learn as much as I possibly can. Leg-spin is an art that you can never perfect. It’s about working as hard as possible. I want to bowl as much as I possibly can. I enjoy it. I love being part of the game as much as I can. So I just want to get runs and a load of wickets consistently in the same games,” Ahmed told The Telegraph when asked about comparisons with Steve Smith.
In 2022, a young Ahmed had become England’s youngest Test cricketer at the age of 18 years and 26 days when he made his test debut against Pakistan at Karachi. In 2023, Ahmed became England’s youngest player in ODI as well T20I and has so far played in five Tests, six ODIs and 10 T20Is for England.
Last year, Ahmed had scored four fifties and has taken 13 wickets in the cCounty Championships for Leicestershire. This year, Ahmed, who turns 21 on Wednesday, has scored a total of 760 runs in ten matches including five centuries with four consecutive centuries and has claimed a total of 23 wickets at an average of 19.00.
Ahmed was offered the opener’s role in the third game of the championship with regular opener Rishi Patel being injured and the 20-year-old scored only his second First Class hundred in the game against Lancashire. Ahmed would then drop to the number three role and would score four more hundreds in the next seven games of the team apart from shining with the ball. When asked about how he feels about his all-round game, the youngster was quick to admit about how he sees his game.
“I still feel like I’m a bowler who bowls and a batter who bats. I want to be very good at both. Whether that takes me years or happens quickly, I will always be striving to be the best all-rounder I can. I asked for the opportunity to open. I feel I train hard enough on my batting to bat in the top order. When I was batting lower down, I felt like I was always chasing the game.
But at three, in your head you have more time to shape the game. I’m not saying I play all that time, but it makes me more relaxed knowing it’s there. And also, when you bat at No 3, there are often only about three fielders in front of the bat. It can be easier to get a good start.
It’s also nice having that responsibility, to take the game on yourself. I feel that if I occupy the crease long enough, I will always find ways to score. I just had to find a way to stay out there long enough. I am surprised that I’ve kept my head switched on long enough to get five hundreds, but I’m delighted,” shared Ahmed.
With Shoaib Bashir getting injured last month during the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy against India, England team management had called Liam Dawson as Bashir’s replacement in the team.
With his all-round heroics under his belt, Ahmed shared how he aspires to be part of the England squad for The Ashes. “I’ve never been to Australia. Never played there. It looks a great place to play, and the Ashes is an incredible occasion. I’d love to be a part of it.
I know the management, if they pick me, they back me 100 percent. If they don’t, it’s because they don’t think I’m the right man for the job there. I have full faith in their judgement. If you asked any man on the street if they wanted to play in the Ashes, they’d jump at the chance. If I don’t go, it’ll be a great watch,” Ahmed said.
