Rehan Ahmed becomes England's youngest men's Test cricketer
The cricketer was earmarked for great things when he bowled out Ben Stokes and Alastair Cook as an 11-year-old.
Saturday 17 December 2022 10:32, UK
Teenage leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed got a warm hug from his father on the pitch after making history as England's youngest men's Test cricketer.
He made his debut - aged just 18 years and 126 days - in the third Test against Pakistan in Karachi.
Ahmed beat the record of Yorkshire's Brian Close, who was 18 years and 149 days when he played against New Zealand in July 1949.
The teenager soon took his first wicket - that of Pakistani batter Saud Shakeel.
Ahmed was given his debut by former England captain Nasser Hussain.
It was a proud moment for his father, Naeem, who was allowed to join the team on the pitch to watch Ahmed being given his first cap.
"It's exciting times for Rehan especially, and he was very excited when we gave him the nod that he was going to play last night," said England captain Ben Stokes.
The 18-year-old only made his top-level county debut for Leicestershire in May.
He first attracted media attention at age 11 when he dismissed Stokes and Alastair Cook in the nets having been invited to bowl at a training session for the national team.
He also got high praise from legendary former Australia leg spinner Shane Warne, who saw him bowling in the nets at Lord's.
He said in a video on Twitter: "That's awesome man, really really good, I'm going to keep a close eye on you. I think we're going to be commentating on you really soon."
The youngest person to play a Test for England was Holly Colvin, who was 15 years and 336 days when she played for the women's team against Australia in 2005.