Watch: Rehan Ahmed celebrated his selection into England’s Ashes squad with a rapid 49 for Leicestershire in the T20 Blast, including three hits over the fence in the same over against Northamptonshire at Leicester.
Earlier in the day, the leg-spinner had been added to the England squad for the second Ashes Test, beginning June 28 at Lord’s. Rehan was added as cover for Moeen Ali, who injured his finger during the Edgbaston Test, with little clarity over whether the digit will heal in time for the second Test. Last year, Rehan became England’s youngest ever men’s Test cricketer: if he does play the Lord’s Test, he will become the youngest to feature in England-Australia Tests since 1877.
Aside from Rehan’s obvious spin-bowling talent, his batting has also seen an upward curve over the last few months. Not long after his selection, Rehan, opening for Leicestershire, cracked a 32-ball 49, even as the rest of his teammates struggle to build any momentum in their chase of 211.
Leics lost three wickets inside the first four overs, and their fourth in the sixth over, leaving Rehan with little support at the other end. Barring him, only wicketkeeper Harry Swindells and No.9 Michael Finan managed to enter double figures, as Leicestershire folded for 118, suffering a 92-run loss.
Rehan did not go down without a fight though: he carted Freddie Helderich for three sixes in the 10th over, off the second, third and fifth ball, to keep the game alive. He perished in the 13th over to Justin Broad, extinguish the home team’s last hopes off pulling off a miracle.
Watch the three sixes by Rehan Ahmed here:
Bazball calling… 📞
Rehan Ahmed has just hit three sixes in an over 💥#Blast23 pic.twitter.com/teQP26U6rc
— Vitality Blast (@VitalityBlast) June 23, 2023
