England taking eight wickets on the green of the Hagley Oval on day one of the first Test against New Zealand was perhaps not surprising.
However, what was surprising was that the pacer Shoaib Bashir smashed four of them.
New Zealand are not a professional spinner in this game, but England have their thanks as they have helped the visitors, taking three wins out of five in the last round.
The Black Caps slumped from 199-3 to 319-8 at stumps in Christchurch as Bashir showed England’s confidence in him after turning 50 against Pakistan in October.
According to Sky Sports Cricket’s Michael Atherton and Bashir himself, was another tick in the box for Ben Stokes’ leadership.
Atherton said Sky Sports news: “One of the things about Stokes’ captaincy is how kind he is to the spinner. He always wants a spinner in his line-up, regardless of the conditions.
“Before Jack Leach replaced Bashir as the No 1 spinner, he benefited from the faith that Stokes had in him and it is the same for Bashir now.
“England have already said they will start the game even though they didn’t bowl well in Pakistan and Leach got a lot of wickets. They have kept Bashir and they are getting the benefit.
‘I’ve started from bowling against the best in the world’
Bashir, who is one time away from becoming the first bowler to take five wickets at Hagley Oval, said: “Stokesy and Baz (head coach Brendon McCullum) give me 100% and that brings out the best in me.
“I threw a lot of bad balls out there but I kept going and that just shows how much faith he has in me. If I hit a bad shot it’s nothing, Ben just looks at me and smiles.
Off-spinner Bashir (right) has praised England captain Stokes (right) for bringing out the best in him.
“Even that just gives me a lot of confidence, because I know I can play my best ball. All I can think about is trying to take a wicket or create a chance.
“I didn’t expect to bowl 20-odd overs and take four wickets on the first day, but I knew I had work to do.”
Bashir has enjoyed a whirlwind rise, from first-class debut for Somerset in 2023 to now winning more Test overs than anyone else in 2024, at 457.3.
His wicket haul this year of 45 is only equaled by India’s Jasprit Bumrah (49) and Ravichandran Ashwin (45), and it is not lost on the 21-year-old how far he has come.
Bashir says he is learning on the job but is happy with how he is growing
“Two years ago I didn’t have a district… I’m very grateful for what happened last year,” he said.
“I’m not perfect, every day I feel like I can play better.
“I’m still learning on the job – I don’t think this will ever end – but I feel like I’ve grown a bit and learned a bit of skill from bowling against some of the best in the world.”
England’s Test tour of New Zealand
- First Test: November 28-December 2 (Christchurch)
- Second test: December 6-10 (Wellington)
- Third Test: December 14-18 (Hamilton)
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