‘He is the real deal’ - Mark Butcher highlights Shoaib Bashir’s spin brilliance

Shoaib Bashir’s brilliant five-for got the job done for England in the second Test against West Indies at Trent Bridge. After a brilliant show with the bat in the first innings, the visitors were expected to put up a fight in the second as well but they could not deliver against Bashir, who was sensational and destroyed West Indies’ middle order. He picked up back-to-back wickets of Kirk McKenzie, Alick Athanaze, Kavem Hodge and Jason Holder, which killed the spirits of West Indies.

His bowling prowess impressed former cricketer Mark Butcher who labelled him as ‘the real deal’. The 51-year-old noted that he looked in good form in the first innings as well but lost a bit of consistency towards the end. However, the youngster improved in the second innings as he had more control or flight, which brought him success.

“I think so, I think he is (the real deal). I think you could see it even in the first inning, towards the back end, when the ball was flying around a little bit more. He lost a little bit of consistency, dragged a few balls down, but I think there was enough on show,” Butcher said while speaking on the Wisden Cricket Weekly podcast.

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“When the pitch was flat as anything and not turning at all, he had the control and the variety in terms of flight and whatever to be a very good bowler,” he added.

Bashir also has a brilliant captain in Ben Stokes to work with: Butcher

Bashir did not have any international experience when he was picked up for a vital tour to India. Skipper Ben Stokes trusted the youngster with a lot of responsibility and he delivered from time to time. Butcher noted Stokes’ influence in Bashir’s game and stated that the captain knows how and when to use the spinner, which is key.

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“He also has a brilliant captain in Ben Stokes to work with. He is very sympathetic, I think, as a captain but also understands how to allow you to bowl good balls that do not get knocked for ones, and batters cannot just sit there and milk you and make you feel like you are not kind of having any effect at all,” said Butcher.