[VIDEOS/PICTURES] Mohammad Hasnain to play for Worcestershire in the County Championship

[MenInG]

Worcestershire have completed the overseas signing of Pakistan international fast bowler Muhammad Hasnain for the final six matches of the 2022 LV= Insurance County Championship.

The 22-year-old has already featured in 26 internationals for Pakistan and Head Coach Alex Gidman says Hasnain’s ability to bowl at 90mph will add fresh impetus as Worcestershire look to continue it's bid for success in red-ball cricket.

He is set to make his debut against Middlesex at Merchant Taylors School on July 11.

Hasnain has played eight ODIs and 18 T20Is for Pakistan since making his debut in both formats in 2019, in addition to six first-class matches in his career.

Head Coach Alex Gidman said: “Hugely exciting to have Muhammad join our squad for the last six games. We’ve played a patient game with the overseas players and tried to plot our way through the season.

“To have someone of his calibre joining us for the last six games is really exciting.

“Azhar knows him very well and helped us do a bit of research. He spoke very, very highly of him as a young man and as a character and his skill set as well.

“He is going to be exactly what the group needs, some real power and energy.

“The longer the season goes on, the harder it becomes, so to have some fresh impetus when we really need it is going to be good for the guys.

“He bowls very quick, so a different skill set to what we have, and he will hopefully give us a chance of winning more games.”

Gidman said having the extra pace Hasnain offers will be even more important given the flat nature of pitches this summer.

He said: “Absolutely. If anything, the way the wickets have been around the country, at times it has exposed our country’s weaknesses, which are raw pace and spin.

“This year has probably highlighted it even more, so to use the overseas player to try and plug those gaps is really important, and it will be fascinating to see how Muhammad impacts the group.

“We are going to try and have as strong a team as we can to finish the campaign. It may just help us and give us a slight advantage at times, hopefully.”

Muhammad Hasnain, who will play for Oval Invincibles in The Hundred, said: “I’m really looking forward to my first taste of county cricket.

“I want to help Worcestershire win matches first and foremost, but I also want to play more first class cricket, and this is an ideal opportunity.

“It will also be part of my cricketing education playing in England on different pitches.

“Azhar has had nothing but good things to say about Worcestershire, and I’m looking forward to joining up, and hopefully, I can make a similar impact to him.”

Cricket Steering Group Chairman, Paul Pridgeon, said: “We are going to have a real crack at the Championship. He is not available for the Glamorgan game but the last six Championship games from Middlesex onwards.

“On fairly flat surfaces with Duke balls, he might just help to blast teams out.”

[IAJ]

Has he changed his action?

[Fenrir]

The English counties have excellent facilities,coaches and pitches.It will be good for him to bowl in English conditions.Naseem Shah said in interview recently that pace is very important but in England you have to have the right length and line otherwise you will go for a lots of runs.Hasnain will need to learn how to swing the ball.

[usmanraheel]

Has he changed his action?

Yeah he has changed his action. There were some videos of him practicing in the nets. I hope he can sustain that action and perform well !

[Saj]

Interesting move by Worcestershire.

I'm guessing Azhar Ali had a say in this.

Looking at his stats, he has a first-class bowling average of 49.20 which makes the move by Worcestershire a surprising and perhaps risky one.

[Nikhil_cric]

He will be under a lot of scrutiny in England for his action. After long spells, hopefully he wont go back to his old action to extract pace. Good luck to the youngster

[Titan24]

Happy that straight after his action clearance he has been getting stints with a country as well as leagues like the 100.

[Titan24]

He will be under a lot of scrutiny in England for his action. After long spells, hopefully he wont go back to his old action to extract pace. Good luck to the youngster

Guy's action used to be pretty smooth since his U19 days and he used to be pretty quick even back them, its the eventual change to get that extra ration while bowling outswinger made him struggle a bit with his alignment. All that was needed was a slight adjustment which to be honest could have been done earlier even to extract optimal results out of him rather then waiting for it to be called and then corrected.

[Justcrazy]

This stint would make him a better bowler , bowling in longer formats should help him in developing more variations.

[MenInG]

Just first season after new action, not a red-ball bowler - Hope he comes away unscathed.

[Saj]

He will be under a lot of scrutiny in England for his action. After long spells, hopefully he wont go back to his old action to extract pace. Good luck to the youngster

Yes, there won't be any hiding place for him.

I'm actually surprised that he's been given a NOC by PCB when the ideal scenario will have been some cricket at home first to test out his new action later this year.

[James]

Muhammad Hasnain is unavailable to make his debut after being unable to obtain a visa in time.

[MenInG]

Will have to get his new action sorted ASAP and deliver for Worcestershire, big task for him this.

[MenInG]

Hasnain will make his debut for Worcs tomorrow

[MenInG]

Pace bowler Mohammad Hasnain is set to make his Worcestershire debut in the LV=Insurance County Championship match with Derbyshire beginning at New Road tomorrow (Monday).



The Pakistan international is available for the final five Championship matches of the season until the end of September.

All-rounder Kashif Ali and left-arm seamer Ben Gibbon, both in prime form for the Seconds, are also added to the squad, but pace bowler, Charlie Morris, is ruled out for two weeks with a knee problem.

Worcestershire Head Coach, Alex Gidman, is delighted with the way Hasnain has already settled in at New Road for his first taste of county cricket.

He said: “First of all, he is a charming young man, has settled in well, and he’s had three or four really good bowls.

“He looks in good shape. He hasn’t played a huge amount of cricket, but we are looking forward to having him as part of the team.

“Mohammad is certainly sharp, but he has put a real emphasis on accuracy. He is a very mature young man. He doesn’t just try to bowl quickly.

“He has listened to what we have been trying to do with the ball, and he will try and join that bowling plan and add to what we are trying to do.”

Hasnain will be looking to add to the six first class appearances he has so far made in his career.

Gidman said: “Absolutely. What we are looking for from overseas players is lots of different characteristics.

“Equally for us, potentially it is the start for us of a relationship with someone like Mohammad who can come over. We give him some experience, and he adds a different dimension to our group in terms of raw pace.

“We know he is inexperienced, but he adds something that we don’t have, so it is going to be really exciting to watch him go about his business.”

Kashif has amassed more than 700 runs in his last seven SEC knocks for the Seconds to add to some promising performances in the Vitality Blast.

Gibbon returned Worcestershire’s best SEC bowling figures for 37 years, with a match analysis of 12-129 in the win over Somerset at Stourport.

Gidman said: “Kashif has batted really, really well, pretty much since he joined us, and to get those runs in the second team is a great effort, and he thoroughly deserves his place in the squad.

“With losing Charlie to injury, we need a stock of bowlers who are available for the start of play tomorrow, and Ben comes into that group having bowled really well and being full of confidence.

“Really pleased to have the strength in the group, and if either of them gets their opportunity tomorrow, I’m sure they will be really excited and desperate to contribute.”

Batter Taylor Cornall will be looking to continue the promising start to his first class career at New Road.

He showed a calm head in steering Worcestershire over the finishing line in the superb win against Middlesex with 31 not out.

Gidman said: “We are really pleased with Taylor and how he is coming on. He is a very determined cricketer, very smart and mature beyond his years, in the cricketing sense.

“He is gutsy, with a great technique, and we are really hopeful of a competitive cricketer for the future.”

https://wccc.co.uk/pakistan-pace-bow...st-derbyshire/

[MenInG]

Hasnain's team bowling at the moment but he hasnt bowled yet

[MenInG]

������������ ☝️ �������������� �� �������������� ��

Welcome Muhammad Hasnain ��

The Pakistan fast bowler bowls Conners for four and with it claims his first Worcestershire wicket ��

Derbyshire 129/9 after 49.4 overs.

�� #WeAreWorcestershire | �� #Pears pic.twitter.com/9zV6630ewp

— Worcestershire County Cricket Club (@WorcsCCC) July 25, 2022

[MenInG]

Hasnain takes 2-35 in his maiden outing

An excellent way to take your first New Road wicket @MHasnainPak ��

�� #WeAreWorcestershire | �� #Pears https://t.co/0SsptkeIuZ pic.twitter.com/d68Ui7gagL

— Worcestershire County Cricket Club (@WorcsCCC) July 25, 2022

A great way to wrap up the innings @MHasnainPak ��

�� #WeAreWorcestershire | �� #Pears pic.twitter.com/ZhGple30MR

— Worcestershire County Cricket Club (@WorcsCCC) July 25, 2022

[KyoOne]

A great way to wrap up the innings @MHasnainPak ��

�� #WeAreWorcestershire | �� #Pears pic.twitter.com/ZhGple30MR

— Worcestershire County Cricket Club (@WorcsCCC) July 25, 2022

Wow beautiful swinging yorker. Honestly he's far better than the two pacers playing for Pakistan currently.

[pak.cricket]

Wow beautiful swinging yorker. Honestly he's far better than the two pacers playing for Pakistan currently.

Yeah ,Getting wickets of 2 tail enders in County makes him better than our current bowlers. Nice logic Lol 😂😂

[Markhor]

Shame he couldn't join earlier as there'll be a break for The Hundred after this match, before the County season resumes in mid-Sep.

If you can't take wickets in mid-Sep under gloomy skies in England, then there's obviously something wrong.

[Fenrir]

He hasn’t played a lot of first class cricket.This stint at Worcestershire will help him.He has the potential.A full country season might have done wonders for him.

[MenInG]

Hasnain expensive today - no wickets today and ends up at Stumps on 0/45 in 11 overs

[MenInG]

Hasnain expensive today - no wickets today and ends up at Stumps on 0/45 in 11 overs

Ends up on 0/63 in 15 overs in the second innings - bit disappointing,

[Bewal Express]

Ends up on 0/63 in 15 overs in the second innings - bit disappointing,

I watched him this morning and once again he was terrible.

[Fenrir]

He hasn’t played for 5 or 6 months.Let us wait and see how does in the rest of the matches.

[Bewal Express]

He hasn’t played for 5 or 6 months.Let us wait and see how does in the rest of the matches.

The issue isn't one of rhythm( although you have a point about him not playing much), it's the poor skill levels.

[MenInG]

Hasnain speaking to PP:

PakPassion.net: Tell us about your stint at Worcestershire and what you expect to gain from it?

Mohammad Hasnain: To play in County Cricket is a great opportunity for all cricketers and I am particularly happy to be here as I am following the tradition of some legendary Pakistan cricketers. Playing in County Cricket will give me the chance to bowl long spells and most importantly will allow me to put my modified bowling action to the test. This is a great opportunity to not only get used to my action but also to perform well for Worcestershire. In my debut game, I bowled with good control against some excellent batters and it was great to see that I was able to produce some good wicket-taking deliveries as well.