Shoaib Bashir, a young England off-spinner, recently described his dismissal of India’s Mohammed Siraj at Lord’s as a moment that he will remember forever. The 21-year-old secured England’s thrilling Test victory at cricket’s home ground with a carrom ball that rattled Siraj’s stumps. Despite having a shattered finger, Bashir delivered a game-winning delivery that put the home team up 2-1 in the series.
The event occurred during the third Test at Lord’s, when England was attempting to restrict the visitors. Chasing 193 runs, India was suffering at 112/8, but Ravindra Jadeja’s unbeaten 61 kept them in the chase till the end. Siraj, batting on the other end, resisted England for 29 deliveries when Bashir, introduced into the attack by captain Ben Stokes, broke through with a carrom ball. The dismissal not only sealed England’s victory, but it also left Bashir with a memory that he claims he will cherish with him throughout his career. Bashir commended former teammate Moeen Ali with inspiring him to trust and bowl the carrom ball.
“I met Moeen Ali for the first time at Edgbaston and we spoke a lot. 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. 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,” Bashir told The Sunday Times.
I’m just glad I could make a difference: Shoaib Bashir
With his left hand strapped after fracturing his little finger while fielding, Bashir was eager to contribute and help his team get over the line.
“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?’ Bashir said the moment will stay with him forever. 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.” Bashir added.
Despite his injury, Bashir had earlier contributed with the bat, scoring two runs in a seven-run stand with Jofra Archer. He reflected on facing Jasprit Bumrah and playing with plenty of painkillers.
“It (the injury) happened, I came off the field and went for a scan. I knew it was pretty bad at that point, but I had plenty of painkillers. 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. It looked like the wicket flattened out and not much was happening. Even the Indian spinners struggled,” concluded the spinner.
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