At Trent Bridge, England’s victory against the West Indies in the second Test was secured by Shoaib Bashir‘s outstanding five-for. The visitors were expected to battle back in the second innings after Bashir’s outstanding display at the bat in the first, but they were unable to match him as he completely demolished the middle order of the West Indies. He destroyed the spirits of the West Indies by taking the wickets of Kirk McKenzie, Alick Athanaze, Kavem Hodge, and Jason Holder in consecutive balls.
Former cricketer Mark Butcher was amazed by his bowling ability and called him “the real deal.” The 51-year-old said he appeared to be in fine form throughout the first innings but started to lose a little bit of consistency. But the youthful player got better in the second inning, using greater flight or control to achieve success.
“I believe that he is the real deal,” In the back half of the first inning, when the ball was flying around a little bit more, I believe you could see it already. On the Wisden Cricket Weekly podcast, Butcher stated, “I think there was enough on show, but he lost a little bit of consistency and dragged a few balls down.”
He continued, “He had the control and the variety in terms of flight and whatever to be a very good bowler when the pitch was flat as anything and not turning at all.”
Ben Stokes is another outstanding skipper that Bashir can work with: Mark Butcher
When Bashir was chosen for an important tour to India, he had no prior foreign experience. Ben Stokes, the captain, gave the young player a lot of responsibility, and he occasionally performed well. Butcher highlighted Stokes’ impact on Bashir’s style of play and said that the captain is crucial because he knows when and how to deploy the spinner.
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Ben Stokes, his outstanding captain, is another asset at his disposal. As a captain, I believe he is extremely understanding, but he also knows when to let you bowl nice balls that do not get whacked for ones. Batters can’t simply stand there and take advantage of you, making you feel like you aren’t really making a difference at all, Butcher said.