BOLTON cricket star Haseeb Hameed has signed for Nottinghamshire.

The 22-year-old top-order batsman ended his long association with Lancashire at the end of the 2019 season and will be hoping to kickstart his career at Trent Bridge.

The former Farnworth Social Circle player made two half-centuries on three Test appearances against India in 2016 but has seen his career stall since.

Hameed has signed a two-year deal with Nottinghamshire and will work with former Red Rose and England coach Peter Moore.

“I’m very excited to be joining Nottinghamshire and playing my cricket at Trent Bridge,” said the one-time Bolton School pupil.

“I’ve enjoyed myself every time I’ve played at this great venue and hope to add to some good memories there.

“This is a new chapter in both my life and career and I’m full of excitement to start working with my new teammates and helping get Notts back up to Division One where they belong.

“I want to thank Lancashire for the support they’ve provided over the years and to my teammates, whom I’ve shared a dressing room with.

“A special mention to (director of cricket) Mick Newell and Peter Moores at Notts for believing in me. I can’t wait to get started.”

Hameed has scored just shy of 3,000 runs in first-class cricket to date.

Having become the fifth-youngest batsman to chalk up 1,000 in a season in 2016, he was named Lancashire’s player of the year that summer before averaging 43.8 in his three Test appearances. 

“There’s no doubting Haseeb’s talent,” Moores told Nottinghamshire’s website.

“It doesn’t get much tougher than Test cricket in India and he proved over there, at a very young age, that he has all the skill, temperament and patience to succeed at the highest level.

“He’s enjoyed some more difficult times since then, and that’s going to happen with young players, but the ones that are destined for great things bounce back and move their games on again.

“We believe that’s what’s going to happen with Haseeb and it’s great news for Notts that we can be the ones to benefit from that.”

Moores, who watched Hameed defy a Notts bowling line-up including Stuart Broad and Imran Tahir with a six-hour vigil of 122 at Trent Bridge three years ago, believes he will be a good fit at Trent Bridge.

“We’ve got exciting stroke players in our red-ball team, but it’s really important that we find a way to bat longer,” he said.

“Haseeb’s approach is patient, methodical and based on crease occupation. They’re old-fashioned virtues in many ways, but they’re completely relevant to the modern-day game and exactly what we need to help us get better.”