BOLTON batting star Haseeb Hameed says breaking into Lancashire’s first team this summer is a realistic goal.

The Bolton School Sixth Form student, formerly of Farnworth Social Circle, signed his maiden professional contract at Emirates Old Trafford in October with a weight of expectation on his shoulders.

The 18-year-old returned a stunning run of scores for England Under-19s and the Red Rose second team towards the end of last summer, notching 92, 112, 97, 97 and 125 in six innings.

And he impressed further with the bat in Australia recently where he was unbeaten just short of a century for his country's u19s against the host nation.

With a lack of batting talent emerging through the Lancashire system recently, fans are understandably excited about the right-hander’s future.

Even fellow Boltonian Karl Brown labelled Hameed as “as good a young player as I’ve seen” during the winter.

“We’ve got a really strong, competitive squad at Lancashire, and everyone is going to be fighting for places because of the calibre of names there,” said Hameed.

“No one is really guaranteed a place, and it’s just a case of trying to stake a claim and continuing to do what I do and not thinking too much about it whilst hoping a chance comes along.

“It would be great to get a taste of that environment, which would be another step in my development.

“It’s something that would be a really good aim for me going into this season. If it comes off, I’ll be really pleased.”

As for the expectation on him, he said: “I try my best to take everything as it comes.

“I realise that if you put in good performances, you are going to get praised, but I’ve got to try and maintain my focus. As a cricketer, you can’t let your focus drift because it is such a tough game.

“I’ll just concentrate on my cricket, try and put in performances with my bat and let others do the talking.”

Hameed was with Cheshire County Premier League side Nantwich last year, but he played all his junior cricket at Social Circle.

“I was there from maybe nine years old before I moved last year, although I didn’t play at Social Circle the year before either, so really I left two years ago,” he added.

“In terms of playing under 11s, 13s and 15s, I did all that at Social Circle. I first played in the first team at 14 and more regularly at 15.

“It was really good to get a taste of second and first team cricket at quite a young age. Some good performances there definitely boosted my confidence, and being able to cope playing against men was great for me."