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Farhan Ahmed (Source-Wisden)
After the emergence of Shoaib Bashir, England cricket has found a new hero. 16-year-old Farhan Ahmed has taken the county circuit by storm with his bowling. The youngster, while playing for Nottinghamshire, picked 7/140 in just his 2nd game and on his county debut.
At 16 years old and 191 days, Farhan Ahmed has become the youngest bowler ever to take a fifer. The feat has captured the imagination of the fans and this has also got him the tag the next big thing in cricket.
Farhan Ahmed bowled 50.4 overs with 6 maidens and gave away 140 runs to pick his 7 wickets. Surrey scored a massive 525 on the board with skipper Rory Burns and Indian star Sai Sudharsan scoring centuries.
Who is Farhan Ahmed the latest English bowling star?
Young Farhan Ahmed came into public view when he played for the England Lions against Sri Lanka. This was his official foray into domestic cricket and the youngster made an immediate impact. Farhan Ahmed is the brother of Rehan Ahmed who became the youngest ever Test debutant for England.
England Lions didn’t give Farhan Ahmed the ball in the first innings of the game. In the 2nd innings, the youngster began by dismissing opener Nishan Madushka for 77. This was followed by the wicket of former skipper Angelo Mathews for 51 and Sadeera Samarawickrama for 25.
Known for his variations, the young off-spinner relies more on his line and length and also gives the ball fair flight. His biggest strength is his accuracy as he can keep honing onto good areas and make the batters play.
On his official county debut, Farhan Ahmed got his maiden scalp in the form of Ryan Patel for 77. The biggest scalps were yet to come as Rory Burns and Will Jacks became his next two wickets.
Out of favour England wicketkeeper Ben Foakes was out for a first-ball duck bowled by Farhan Ahmed. The fifer came when Tom Lawes was caught by South African wicketkeeper Kyle Verreynne for 11. Conor McKerr smashed 32 off 40 balls to become the 6th scalp for the young spinner. The 7th and final wicket was that of Sai Sudharsan who scored 105 off 178 balls and was caught by Freddie McAnn to end Surrey’s innings.