LANCASHIRE second XI coach Mark Chilton says Bolton rising star Haseeb Hameed has a major challenge ahead as captain of the England under-19s next month.

Hameed, aged 18 and formerly of Farnworth Social Circle, will captain his country in a four-day Test match against their Australian counterparts at Durham, starting August 4.

Hameed is a first-year professional at Emirates Old Trafford, but he has yet to make his first-team debut for the Red Rose.

He has been a regular for the under-19s for the past two years, and will also play in a five-match one-day series against the Aussies, although he will not captain that team.

Hameed could skipper a Test team including fellow Boltonian Matt Parkinson and county colleague Saqib Mahmood, the only one of the trio to have played for Lancashire’s first team this season.

“I’m delighted for Has, and I’m not surprised they’ve named him captain knowing the kind of character he is,” said Chilton, a former Lancashire captain.

“He’s a very professional player who goes about his business well and is clearly very well thought of in that environment.

“What he does well is he’s a good performer, and he goes out and does his job and does it very well. I would imagine his place is not in doubt because of his quality. He understands the game well.

“He’s quite quiet within our group, which is often the case with the younger pros. But he still offers his opinion. Clearly, he’s a thinker about the game, and his tactical awareness is fairly sound from my experience.

“It’s difficult to know what his understanding of leadership is like, but this is a great opportunity for him to explore that. Because he’s not done that much of it before, I would say it’s a fantastic challenge for him.

“For me, there’s no rocket science in captaincy.

“It’s a feel for the game and tactics when you’re out there. It’s how you carry yourself away from the field as well, how you are as a human being 24/7. That will be something he will learn in time.

“He’s very popular with his team-mates in our environment. He listens and observes. This is a great opportunity to develop.”

All three players toured Australia with the under 19s in April and completed their A-Level exams shortly afterwards, with Hameed at Bolton School and Parkinson at Cannon Slade.

“We saw a little bit more of the other two during the exam period,” added Chilton.

“Parky chose to really knuckle down, and he was doing more exams than the other two. He wasn’t available as much, and I haven’t seen him play as much cricket as a result.

“Clearly I’ve seen him in the past, and I’m aware of his abilities as a leg-spin bowler. He’s deserved this recognition from England because he’s a very skilful bowler.”