Shoaib Bashir’s rise in the England Test team reached a significant milestone as he claimed his 50th Test wicket, becoming the youngest player to achieve this feat for his country. At just 21 years old, the spinner showcased his growing prowess during the match against Zimbabwe at Trent Bridge, where he took three wickets for 62 runs in the first innings. This achievement marks a major step in Bashir’s burgeoning career and underlines his importance to England’s bowling attack.
Bashir’s impact for England has been striking, especially when compared to his performances elsewhere. Despite struggling for consistency in the County Championship with Glamorgan where he took fewer wickets across three matches this season than he did in just this one Test his success at the international level has been remarkable. Over half of the deliveries he has bowled in his first-class career have been for England, but they have yielded more than two-thirds of his wickets. He attributes this to different conditions, opposition, and the confidence that comes from being part of the national team setup.
“It’s different times of year, different opposition, batters play you differently,” Bashir said, reflecting on why he feels more effective playing for England. “I walk into this England team and I feel 10ft tall because of the backing I get, and that makes a massive difference. I feel like I’m very well backed here. I’m well backed in county cricket as well, but I feel like England cricket is my happy place.”
Bashir’s day was not without incident, however. While attempting a sharp catch off his own bowling, he split a fingernail and was forced to leave the field briefly for treatment. This mishap meant he missed an extraordinary bowling spell by Ben Stokes, who, on his return to the attack, delivered 3.2 overs including two maidens and picked up two crucial wickets. Bashir acknowledged the significance of Stokes’ performance, saying, “I didn’t see it but I heard about it – whenever he gets the ball or walks out to bat you know something’s going to happen, so you need to have your eyes on the cricket.”
England finished the day with a commanding 270-run lead, having bowled Zimbabwe out in their first innings. Zimbabwe’s second innings began poorly, with two wickets down while following on. The closeness of the match, however, was largely thanks to an exceptional performance from Zimbabwe’s 21-year-old opener Brian Bennett, whose gritty batting frustrated England’s attack.
Bashir admitted he had not been familiar with Bennett before the match but quickly recognized his skill. “To be honest I didn’t know much about him,” he said, “but I think the way he was playing, we knew he was a very good player.”
For Bennett, the innings was a personal landmark. Inspired by the sight of previous centurions being added to the honours board before play started, he was determined to leave his own mark. “I saw them putting up their names so I thought it would be nice to be on there as well,” Bennett said. “And a few hours later my name’s up there. What a feeling. To do it against England in England, with a full crowd and lots of Zimbabweans there as well as my family, it’s going to take something to beat this one.”
As the match progresses, England will look to build on their strong position while managing the challenge posed by Bennett’s resilience. Bashir’s milestone, combined with the team’s collective effort, signals a bright future for England’s young bowling talent and highlights the exciting prospects ahead for the squad.
