Rehan Ahmed says he played the 'game of my life' as he took 13 wickets and scored a century in Leicestershire's County Championship win against Derbyshire.
"It was probably the game of my life."
England all-rounder Rehan Ahmed got straight to the point when describing what it was like to take 13 wickets and contribute a century with the bat in Leicestershire's dominant County Championship win against Derbyshire last week.
Not since the Victorian age has a Leicestershire player taken 12 wickets or more and registered a ton in the same game.
The last to do so was Fred Geeson in 1901.
For 20-year-old Ahmed, the once-in-a-125-year performance was a headline-grabbing way of underlining what sort of cricketer he aspires to be.
His progression in the game been likened to that of Steve Smith's, who debuted as a leg-spinning all-rounder for Australia but established himself as a world-beating batsman.
When the comparison was put to Ahmed after he career-defining performance at Central Co-op County Ground, his reply was fused with confidence.
"I want to be a proper leg-spinner and proper batsman, and there is nothing stopping me apart from myself," he told BBC Radio Leicestershire.
"This is probably the game of my life so far, and it's just nice to know the practice that you are doing is working.
"It was great fun out there."
For some, this was a clear message from Ahmed to England selectors ahead of the Ashes series in Australia starting later this year.
Ahmed last featured in a Test match for England in October.
From day one against Derbyshire, Ahmed put on a show that had him anointed as 'Star-med' by the end.
He was one of three Foxes players to score a century, with Lewis Hill top-scoring with 151 and Peter Handscomb contributing 101, in Leicestershire's first inning, which set the Division Two leaders up for the 189-run win that has them edging towards promotion.
The 115 from Ahmed was his third consecutive hundred in the Championship.
He followed that up on day two with a masterful display of spin, taking 6-51 from 20 overs to help bowl the hosts out for 189.
He put on a quickfire 26 with the bat after that to help put Leicestershire in command of the game, before completing his match-winning performance with 7-93 to take his bowling figures to an astonishing 13-144 from 60 overs.
It was a huge haul in what was a top-of-the-table clash of regional rivals who are both challenging for promotion.
"This week was my week, but also it was Pete's week - he got a 100 and Lewis Hill got a massive 150," Ahmed said after the match.
"We are all loving each other's performances, and as long as we keep doing that we'll be sweet."
Category: General Sports
