Shoaib Bashir impressed one and all with his debut performance against India when England toured the subcontinent in January. Bashir is currently playing his maiden series at home and in the second Test match against West Indies, the spinner dazzled with a five-wicket haul as the host country defeated the Windies by 241 runs at the Trent Bridge on July 21.
Shoaib Bashir Became The Youngest England Bowler With Fifer In Home Tests
Shoaib Bashir stood out as England’s top bowler during the fourth innings of the 2nd Test against the West Indies at Trent Bridge. He secured impressive figures of 5/41 from 11.1 overs as the Windies crumbled and were dismissed for 143.
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This decisive bowling performance by Shoaib Bashir helped the hosts secure a commanding 241-run victory on Day 4. With this achievement, Shoaib Bashir also became the youngest England bowler to take a five-wicket haul in Test matches played at home.
Ben Stokes Hailed Shoaib Bashir
Meanwhile, England captain Ben Stokes hailed the young talent and asserted that he has proved himself. Speaking at the post-match presentation, Ben Stokes:
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“I think what Bash has done today is to show the world what he can do. That wicket hardly offered anything for a spinner throughout the whole Test match and look at what he was able to do today.”
He added: “The way he can change his pace, overspin, underspin – he showed his full bag of tricks today. He’s got so much talent, his ceiling is so high and he’s got an unbelievable desire and will to get better and learn. The great thing about Bash is if you see him get hit over his head, he starts smiling and he’s all right. I love the way in which that doesn’t affect him.”
It sounds like Bashir’s promotion to the Test side for the winter tour of India was quite unexpected, especially considering he wasn’t even a regular in his county’s team yet. His selection for the series at such an early stage in his career might have raised doubts among many observers about whether he was ready for such a big leap.
“The decisions we make are based around not only how far their talent can take them but because we think they’re good enough for international cricket straight away,” Stokes said.
“A great way to look at it is, this is the worst they’ll be. If you think you can identify talent and throw them into the international environment and give them confidence, give them backing, they’re going to progress really quickly.”
“Bash showed everybody what he could do in India where conditions were in his favour, but seven wickets on this wicket and the way he bowled – I don’t want to say it’s an ‘I told you so’ sort of thing, but it sort of is.”
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