‘I will always stay down to earth…’: England’s Bashir after match-winner against WI

Nottingham (UK), : Coming off his match-winning performance for England in the second Test against the West Indies, spinner Shoaib Bashir spoke about bowling spins in England and how he feels about his position in the national set-up.

A fifer from Bashir crushed West Indies’ dream of a comeback as they were bowled out for 143 runs during a 385-run chase after a glorious reply during the second Test in Nottingham. WI took a first innings lead of 41 runs, scoring 457 in reply to England’s first innings total of 416 runs. But a commendable batting display from the Three Lions, led by Harry Brook and Joe Root, helped the hosts to 425, setting up 385 for the visitors to win. WI couldn’t stay alive in the series as Bashir’s spell pushed them back and England sealed a 2-0 series win with a match to spare.

After the match, although he was pleased with his five-wicket haul, he was still hard on himself for conceding 108 runs in the first innings and taking just two wickets. Despite being praised by captain Ben Stokes for hunting wickets amid West Indies’ heavy scoring in their first innings, Bashir said he was still working on controlling the flow of runs and was “always tough on him himself”. He also drew comparisons between the conditions in England and India, the latter being where he made his international debut this year.

“Obviously in India, the conditions are different. So you come here and for the first innings, you don’t have much time (to bowl). I’m just trying to work on consistency. I wasn’t too happy with the way I bowled in the first innings .So it was nice to cash in there,” Bashir was quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfo.

“Always rough (on me), always looking for ways to improve and I think that’s one thing that wouldn’t change. I was leaking boundaries quite often but at the same time I was still trying to take a wicket and I think there is a lot to work on from that and just getting more experience will help me,” he added.

Bashir said that it is difficult to bowl in England but one reaps the rewards as the match goes on.

“I’m grateful I’m a 6ft 4in spinner because it’s a nice attribute to have. The extra bounce helps. I’ve seen it there. If you land the ball in the right areas, a few will bounce and a few will slide on, so that jumping helps,” he added.

Bashir has had a good few months lately. After being released by Surrey in age-group cricket and then securing a deal with Somerset last year, he was picked by England for the tour of India after Stokes watched a clip of him bowling on Instagram. Bashir became the youngest bowler to take five Test wickets for England, surpassing James Anderson’s record 21 years earlier.

As England work to develop a strong bowling attack for the big 2025-26 Ashes assignment in Australia, his height, release point etc. stand out and is poised for a key role in the marquee series. But Bashir doesn’t feel his place is guaranteed and will stay on the ground, taking things one step at a time.

“No, (conversations with management) were nothing like that. I’m just grateful to be in the position I’m in. I take things step by step and I think religion helps me with that. I will always stay down to earth, And humble, I remember when I started, things were quite tough for me and when I grew up, cricket was not the easiest thing, so yes, trying to enjoy every moment that I had on an England shirt.

The hosts wrapped up the series triumph at the end of the fourth day with spinner Shoaib Bashir claiming the third five-wicket haul of his career to help England dismiss West Indies for 143 in pursuit of 385 for victory.

It means England now hold a 2-0 lead in the three-match series against the West Indies and Ben Stokes’ side have the chance to wrap up the series when the third and final Test gets underway in Birmingham on Friday.

In the second Test, West Indies won the toss and opted to bowl first.

England put in an excellent batting performance, propelled by Ollie Pope’s sixth Test ton and half-centuries from Ben Duckett and skipper Ben Stokes. England made 416/10 in 88.3 overs.

Alzarri Joseph was the pick of the bowlers for WI. Jayden Seales, Kavem Hodge, Kevin Sinclair took two wickets while Shamar Joseph got one wicket.

In their first innings, WI were struggling at 84/3, staring at another potential big loss.

However, Alick Athanaze and Kavem Hodge put on a brilliant counter-attacking partnership of 175 runs. Later, wicketkeeper-batsman Joshua da Silva put on an impressive 71-run partnership for the tenth wicket with Shamar Joseph that helped WI breach England’s first innings score and take a 41-run lead of points. WI were bundled out for 457 runs in 111.5 overs.

Chris Woakes was England’s best player. Young pacer Gus Atkinson and spinner Shoaib Bashir also took two wickets each, while skipper Ben Stokes and Mark Wood got one.

In the second innings, England responded to West Indies’ counterattacks with vigor and plenty of runs. While Ben Duckett and Ollie Pope scored fifties, Root and Harry Brook scored big centuries to take England to 425/10 in 92.2 overs, setting the West Indies a target of 385 runs to win.

Seales was West Indies’ top scorer in the second innings, with Alzarri also claiming two scalps. Shamar, Sinclair and Holder got one wicket each.

This article was generated from an automated news agency feed, with no text modifications.