Offspinner has been outbowled by Leach in first two Tests, but Australia remains the endgame
Matt Roller20-Oct-2024There were two near-identical balls on the third morning of England’s defeat in Multan that showcased the best of Shoaib Bashir. Bowling around the wicket to Pakistan’s left-handers, Bashir spun the ball sharply to take the outside edge of first Shan Masood, and then Saim Ayub’s bats, with both men caught at second slip by Ollie Pope.Brendon McCullum referred to Bashir’s “high ceiling” in the aftermath and these were proof of it, but at this early stage in his international career, he also has a lower floor than many. His main issue is a lack of control over his length, with a tendency to drop short at least once an over and as a result, rarely bowl maidens.As things stand, Bashir’s ability to bowl great balls doesn’t quite compensate for his ineffectiveness in the gaps between them. He looked short of ideas in Pakistan’s first innings, unsure whether to hold or attack. That is understandable for someone with so little experience to fall back on, and the result is that across the first two Tests of this tour he has six wickets at 51.16.He has been outbowled by Jack Leach, his Somerset team-mate, who has more than twice as many wickets in the series (14). Leach was particularly impressive in the first Test, taking 7 for 190 on a pitch that offered him nothing. Despite the fact he is now considered England’s second spinner, Leach was often the first that Ben Stokes turned to last week.Bashir turned 21 two days before the second Test, and is clearly still an incredibly raw talent. It was only two years ago that he signed his first professional contract with Somerset, and when he plays in Rawalpindi on Thursday his total Test caps (12) will outstrip his tally of other first-class appearances (11). International cricket is a steep learning curve.England first picked Bashir because they believed his attributes could make him a threat in India, and two five-wicket hauls in his maiden campaign offered proof that their hunch had merit. They have continued to invest heavily in the hope he can be one in Australia, too. At 6ft 4in tall, he generates bounce from a good length and can beat batters in the flight with his overspin, as Kamran Ghulam found out in the closing stages of the opening day last week.At this point in his career, he remains a much bigger threat when turning the ball away from the bat, like most fingerspinners. Bashir averages 32.23 against left-handers compared to 41.28 against right-handers; in Pakistan, four of the six batters he has dismissed have been left-handers. It is a trend that Stokes has recognised and one which has informed his plans.”I chopped and changed depending on who was on strike, because I felt the Pakistan batters seemed a little bit more vulnerable whenever the spin was away from them,” Stokes said. “He’s got an incredible amount of skill bowling to lefties, and I think to the right-handers, he’s just going to get better and better.”Bashir has fared better with Ben Stokes as his captain, after four Tests under Ollie Pope’s leadership•Getty ImagesBashir’s biggest challenge to right-handers has been his line, which has often been too straight. In his five-wicket haul against West Indies at Trent Bridge in July, Bashir bowled outside off stump and looked to spin the ball hard: his best ball, a sharp offbreak to Jason Holder, narrowly missed the top of middle stump. Since then, he has been more defensive and has regularly strayed onto the pads.Bashir has thrived off Stokes’ backing, as his animated celebration of Masood’s dismissal laid bare. He roared while punching the air, as Stokes ran towards him from slip with clenched fists then hugged him. It was no coincidence that Bashir’s returns dropped markedly under Pope’s leadership, with seven wickets at 64.57 in four Tests.Stokes speaks highly of Bashir’s “incredible desire” to improve: it was telling that he chose to spend his birthday at an optional training session last week, while most of the squad were on the golf course. “He’s very early on in the start of his international career,” Stokes said. “When you’ve got someone like that, who’s desperate to keep on improving, you’re onto a winner.”Bashir’s inconsistency owes to his inexperience. Sajid Khan, his opposite number in the second Test, has not played as much international cricket but has bowled nearly three times as many first-class overs. He was much quicker than Bashir to adapt his style to the demands of the surface, dropping his pace and looking to spin the ball hard out of the footmarks.Related
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England have acknowledged that and will take Bashir to Australia in January for the Lions’ red-ball tour, where he will work under Andrew Flintoff. “There’ll be consistency of message, and that’s something that we’ve got to look at,” McCullum said. “For Bash, the opportunity to be able to get some experience in those conditions could be really vital for us.”Graeme Swann was part of the Lions’ coaching staff when Bashir first impressed on a tour to the UAE a year ago, and could work with him again in Australia. Swann has described Bashir as “a generational talent” but also believes he would benefit from moving counties, after his struggle for game-time this summer saw him briefly join Worcestershire on loan.Swann himself benefitted hugely when he moved counties from Northamptonshire to Nottinghamshire. He told talkSPORT’spodcast: “Long-term, if the ECB can just say, ‘Look, this is bonkers. He’s the best spinner in England. If you’re not going to play him, then you have to let him go and play for someone else.'”In practice, Bashir is under contract with Somerset until the end of next season and will likely spend the bulk of next summer with England, who play one Test against Zimbabwe and five against India. It is that series which will evaluate his progress and inform his confidence ahead of the Ashes, which will be England’s subsequent assignment in November 2025, and which looms as the squad’s medium-term goal.The last three Ashes in Australia have seen England’s frontline spinner targeted and ultimately hit out of the series: Swann in 2013-14, Moeen Ali in 2017-18, and Leach three years ago. Bashir will likely have three left-handers to bowl to in Australia’s top seven – Usman Khawaja, Travis Head and Alex Carey – but must also be prepared for the attacking onslaught he will face.”I’ve been really impressed by him,” McCullum said. “He’s one of those guys who, on his day, can be an absolute match-winner… That’s what we’ve just got to keep reinforcing. He’s such an exciting talent, and we said right at the start when he picked him, he’s not the finished product but his ceiling is so high, and we’ve already seen glimpses of that.”Like a futures trader anticipating a spike in the market, England’s long-term bet on Bashir relies on holding their nerve and backing their investment to pay dividends down the line. McCullum has made clear as England coach that he likes a punt: do not expect him to change his mind now.
