Rajkot: Ismail Hameed was perhaps the proudest man at the Saurashtra Cricket Association (SCA) Stadium on Saturday evening. Surrounded by friends and family members, Ismail had a smile on his face as he was congratulated for his son Haseeb's maiden half-century on his debut Test .

Haseeb is only 19 but his unbeaten 62 had a touch of class written all over. Many are of the opinion that England's search for a long-term solution to captain Alastair Cook's opening partner has finally ended with his arrival.

The locals were also excited to watch Haseeb since he has a strong Gujarat connection. He is a player of Indian origin as his father, Ismail, emigrated from the Bharuch district of Gujarat to Bolton back in 1969.

An avid cricket lover himself, Ismail saw to it that his son became a cricketer. He has now flown to Rajkot with his wife, his two other sons and their wives to watch Haseeb's debut.

"It is just amazing. It is a dream come true for the entire family and we feel proud. It is an emotional and surreal feeling," said Ismail, who is settled in Bolton.

"Hameed took to cricket only after watching Sachin Tendulkar play. Hameed was seven and he had accompanied me to MIG Cricket Club in Mumbai in 2004. There was no looking back after that," said Haseeb's brother, Safwaan, 31, eldest of the three siblings and a coach at Lancashire.

Nuaman, Haseeb's brother, who's married into a Gujarati family, said the time spent by his younger brother in Mumbai helped him become a better cricketer. "He practised for nearly two months in Mumbai and that training worked wonders. He interacted with some of the Mumbai Ranji Trophy players," Nuaman said.

Haseeb had impressed as a cricketer at a young age and no one was surprised when he scored more than 1,000 runs in his first County season for Lancashire and was named the England under-19 captain.

Vidya Paradkar, one of the top coaches in Mumbai, trained Haseeb for a couple of months when the boy was only 15.

"He is a good batsman against fast bowling and can play twohree shots for a particular ball,'' said Paradkar.