England taking eight wickets on a green Hagley Oval pitch on day one of the first Test against New Zealand perhaps wasn’t a surprise.
However, what was a shock was that off-spinner Shoaib Bashir snaffled four of them.
New Zealand are not playing a specialist spinner in this game but England were grateful to theirs as he helped the tourists battle back, taking three of the five breakthroughs in the final session.
The Black Caps slipped from 199-3 to 319-8 by stumps in Christchurch with Bashir vindicating England’s confidence in him after averaging nigh on 50 in a struggle against Pakistan in October.
According to Sky Sports Cricket’s Michael Atherton and Bashir himself, it was another tick in the box for Ben Stokes’ leadership.
Atherton told Sky Sports News: “One of the aspects of Stokes’ captaincy has been his empathetic handling of spin. He always wants a spinner in his line-up, regardless of conditions.
“Before Jack Leach was supplanted by Bashir as No 1 spinner, he benefited from that faith Stokes had in him and it is the same for Bashir now.
“England said way before the tour that he would start the series even though he hadn’t bowled that well in Pakistan and Leach got more wickets. They have stick with Bashir and they are reaping the rewards.
‘I’ve developed from bowling against best in the world’
Bashir, who is now one strike away from becoming the first spin bowler to take a Test five-wicket haul at Hagley Oval, said: “Stokesy and Baz (head coach Brendon McCullum) back me 100 per cent and that brings the best out in me.
“I bowled plenty of bad balls out there but I was still kept on and that just shows how much faith they have in me. If I bowl a bad one there’s nothing really, Ben just looks at me and smiles.
“Even that just gives me so much belief, because I know I can still bowl my best ball. All I was thinking about was trying to take a wicket or create an opportunity.
“I wasn’t expecting to bowl 20-odd overs and take four wickets on day one, but I knew I had a job to do.”
Bashir has enjoyed a whirlwind rise, from only making his first-class debut for Somerset in 2023 to now bowling more Test overs than anyone else in 2024, in 457.3.
His wicket haul this year of 45 is only trumped 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.
“Two years ago I didn’t have a county… I’m just very, very thankful for what has happened over the last year,” he said.
“I’m not perfect, every day I feel like I could play better.
“I’m still learning on the job – I don’t think that will ever finish – but I feel I’ve developed quite a bit and learned a few skills from bowling at 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)
