England taking eight wickets on the green Hagley Oval on the first day of the first Test against New Zealand was perhaps no surprise.
However, the shocker was that the off-spinner Shoaib Bashir bowled four of them.
New Zealand don’t play a specialist spinner in this game but England were grateful to them as he helped the tourists fight back, taking three of the five breakthroughs in the final session.
The Black Caps slipped from 199-3 to 319-8 at stumps in Christchurch and Bashir justified England’s confidence in him after averaging around 50 against Pakistan in October.
According to Sky Sports Cricket’s Michael Atherton and Bashir himself, it was another mark for Ben Stokes’ management.
Atherton said Sky Sports News“One aspect of Stokes’ captaincy has been his compassion for spinners. He always wants spinners in his squad, whatever the conditions.
Bashir’s four-wicket haul against New Zealand on day one included Rachin Ravindra and Tom Blundell
“Before Jack Leach was replaced by 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 said long before the tour that he would start the series, even though he didn’t bowl too well in Pakistan and Leach took more wickets.
“I’ve evolved from bowling against the best in the world”
Bashir, who is now one shot away from becoming the first spinner to take five Test wickets at Hagley Oval, said: me
“I hit a lot of bad balls out there but they still didn’t hold me and that shows how much faith they have in me. If I hit a bad ball, it’s nothing really, Ben just looks at me and smiles.
Bashir (right) hailed England captain Stokes (right) for bringing out the best in him
“Even that gives me so much faith because I know I can still hit my best ball. All I could think about was trying to capture 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 meteoric rise from making his debut for Somerset in 2023 to now bowling 457.3 more Test overs than anyone else in 2024.
His wicket of 45 this year is only beaten by India’s Jasprit Bumrah (49) and Ravichandran Ashwin (45) and it is unknown for the 21-year-old how far he has come.
Bashir says he’s learning on the job, but he’s happy with how things are progressing
“Two years ago I didn’t have a period… I’m just very, very grateful for everything that’s happened in the last year,” she said.
“I’m not perfect, every day I feel I can play better.
“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 learned a few skills from bowling to some of the best in the world.”
England test tour of New Zealand
- First test. November 28-December 2 (Christ Church)
- Second test. December 6-10 (Wellington)
- Third test. December 14-18 (Hamilton)
