by Shoaib Bashir is still “learning on the job” as a Test spinner but believes support from Ben Stokes is helping him unlock his full potential.
Bashir was an unlikely leading man on the first day of England’s series opener in New Zealand, taking four wickets for 69 runs on a Christchurch pitch so inhospitable to slow bowlers that the home side entered without a frontline spinner.
The 21-year-old looked set to play a marginal role at Hagley Oval, a venue where no player has ever taken a five-wicket haul, but proved to be the tourists’ trump card as they restricted the Black Caps to 319 for eight.
A virtual unknown at the start of the year, Bashir was quickly named as England’s first choice ahead of the more experienced Jack Leach, with Stokes and Brendon McCullum exploiting his potential rather than worrying about his imperfections.
It’s not the first time their instincts have paid off, his goal thwarting a fine 93 from returning Kiwi slugger Kane Williamson.
Bashir realizes he is far from finishing the article, but he credits Stokes’ leadership with giving him power.
“I didn’t expect to bowl around 20 overs and take four wickets on the first day, but I knew I had a job to do,” he said.
“Stokesy and Baz (head coach Brendon McCullum) support me 100 per cent and it brings out the best in me.
“I played a lot of bad balls, but I still got held out and that shows how much confidence they have in me. If I play a bad throw, it’s really nothing, Ben looks at me and smiles.
“Even that gives me so much confidence, because I know I can always play my best ball. I played plenty of bad ones, but all I was thinking about was trying to take a wicket or create an opportunity.
“I’m still learning on the job – I don’t think it will ever end – but I feel like I’ve developed quite a bit and picked up some skills from bowling among the best in the world.”
Bashir only made his first-class debut for Somerset in June 2023 and was first called up by England as a fourth-choice spinner behind Leach, Rehan Ahmed and Tom Hartley in India.
Remarkably, he has now played more Tests than any bowler in the world in 2024 and has only fewer wickets than Indian pair Jasprit Bumrah and Ravichandran Ashwin.
“Two years ago I didn’t have a county…I’m just very, very grateful for what’s happened over the last year,” he said.
“I’m not perfect, every day I feel like I could play better. But I feel that I have evolved quite a bit, quite well. I learned some skills from bowling among the best in the world.
Williamson is one of the best and Bashir admitted he was “impressed” watching the master craftsman at work before Gus Atkinson caught him at point with a touch of extra bounce.
Williamson shared three consecutive half-centuries and at one point he was in control of his team at 199 for three. Five wickets in the evening session balanced things out, but Stokes missed the chance to make it six when he left a tough chance to Glenn Phillips on zero, with the all-rounder conceding to the tune of 41 without being out by strains.
