|
England spinner Shoaib Bashir feels that the faith head coach Brendon McCullum and captain Ben Stokes have instilled in him has allowed him to bring the "best" out of him.
On the opening day of the first Test against New Zealand, Bashir spun the hosts' premium batters to maintain the balance of play. It all started with Rachin Ravindra slapping away a low full toss to Zak Crawley. Tom Blundell became his second wicket after he hurried into playing a backfoot cut. He failed to keep the elevation minimal, and Gus Atkinson, stationed at the backward point, did not make any mistake. With a quick and flat trajectory, Bashir lured Nathan Smith to chip it into Joe Root's hands to pick his third. Matt Henry paid for dancing down the track and miscuing it to Ben Duckett's hands. Bashir, who has bowled most overs in Test cricket in 2024 (457.3 overs in 22 innings), has gradually begun the process of establishing himself as England's mainstay for years to come. "I'm learning on the job. I'm not perfect. Further self-awareness came when reviewing the 20 overs he did not expect to bowl: "I bowled plenty of bad balls out there, and I was still kept on. That just shows how much faith they [Stokes and Brendon McCullum] have in me. That brings the best out of me, and I just really enjoy playing under them," Bashir said, as quoted from ESPNcricinfo. On the opening day, Bashir was up against New Zealand stalwart Kane Williamson, which initially wasn't a back-and-forth contest. Williamson brushed the ball away for a brace of fours, taking him to his half-century. But things became less of a one-sided affair, with Bashir growing into the contest with his prolonged spells. When Williamson stood on 65, Bashir flighted one outside off, forcing the seasoned star to step outside of his crease. He got past the outside edge with Ollie Pope removing the bails quickly off the stumps, but Williamson's footwork was faster. His foot was back inside the crease before Pope dislodged the bails. "When I saw him out the crease, I was licking my lips. All of a sudden, he slides back...it happens," Bashir said. "I was just in awe watching Kane Williamson bat, trying to focus on deceiving him outside off and play with the outside edge and inside edge. I got past him a few times, but he's a really, really quality player," he added. Bashir's heroics played a vital role in New Zealand going down eight wickets on the opening day after putting 319 runs on the board. (ANI)
|
