Off-spinner Shoaib Bashir believes that the happiness he experienced after dismissing Mohammed Siraj of India to win the Lord’s Test for England will last “forever.” He was also kind enough to give former teammate Moeen Ali some credit for suggesting that he bowl the carrom ball.
In the second Test at Edgbaston, the 21-year-old had removed Siraj with the carrom ball. He was sidelined for the rest of the five-Test series due to a fractured little finger at the Lord’s.
England captain Ben Stokes called on Bashir for the last act as Ravindra Jadeja (61 not out) threatened to take India to victory in London. The young player did not let him down, dismissing Siraj with a ball that bounced and spun savagely.
“I met Moeen Ali for the first time at Edgbaston and we spoke a lot,” Bashir told The Sunday Times.
“Mo encouraged me to bowl the carrom ball. He’s someone I’ve always looked up to and for him to say, ‘Back yourself to do it,’ meant a lot.”
Bashir claimed that although he had been practicing the variation for a while, he didn’t feel comfortable using it until Moeen was asked to join England’s training camp.
“I just wanted to show that I’ve got that strength in me. I bowled it a few times and it came out nicely. I got Siraj out with it (stumped in the first innings), with a really slow ball — it was only about 43 to 44mph.
“Since Edgbaston, I’ve been in touch with Mo a fair few times. He’s a legend and someone I look up to massively, especially being an off spinner in England, which is not an easy job,” he added.
India was at 112/8 on the last afternoon of its 193 chase, but Jadeja stood firm with Jasprit Bumrah (5 off 54 balls) and Siraj, who resisted 29 deliveries, before Bashir, bowling with his left hand severely bandaged, made the breakthrough.
There were riotous cheers in the England camp as the delivery, which Siraj played down onto the field in front of the crease, spun back and hit the base of his leg stump.
“We were creating chances, but just couldn’t get that wicket. I really wanted to get out there. Stokesy knew and gave me the go-ahead when he was on the field and I was on the bench. My left hand felt pretty good when I was bowling. I’m just glad I could make a difference. We got Joe Root to come into silly point to put pressure on Siraj, and I just tried to put as many revs on that ball as I could. Luckily it popped from a length and when it hit his bat (and down into the ground), everyone was just looking, ‘Where is it?’”
The moment will always be a part of Bashir’s memory.
“From my angle I couldn’t really see (the bail coming off). My reaction was off a lot of other peoples’ reaction. I was just relieved. That feeling will stay with me forever — at the home of cricket in front of a packed crowd. It doesn’t get better.”
During India’s first innings, Bashir hurt his non-bowling hand while attempting to grab a return catch off Jadeja.
He then had surgery and had two pins placed in his finger; five weeks later, he is still awaiting clearance.
The spinner and Jofra Archer shared a seven-run partnership despite the agony, with the latter getting two runs off nine balls in a match that England ultimately won by 22 runs.
“It (the injury) happened, I came off the field and went for a scan,” he recalled.
“I knew it was pretty bad at that point, but I had plenty of pain-killers. There was no real conversation about me batting. My first ball from (Jasprit) Bumrah was a bouncer and the next ball a yorker, and it was one of those where the vibrations went right up through your hands. But I was always going to bat, even if it was only to add five-to-ten runs. In the grand scheme of things, they might matter.”
Bashir missed the rest of the series as India fought back to level it 2-2. His replacement, Liam Dawson, went wicketless in 47 overs at Old Trafford, where India batted out a draw at 427/6 declared.
“It looked like the wicket flattened out and not much was happening. Even the Indian spinners struggled,” said Bashir, who took 10 wickets at 54.1.
Washington Sundar claimed seven scalps at 38.6 and Jadeja claimed seven wickets at 72.4 for the Indian spinners.
“It was an incredible series to be part of. I learnt a lot playing against some of the best players in the world. I was quite happy with my performances,” he added.
