London, Aug 18: Off-spinner Shoaib Bashir believes that the joy he felt after dismissing India’s Mohammed Siraj to seal the Lord’s Test in favour England will stay with him “forever” and was also generous enough to give a slice of credit to former teammate Moeen Ali for advising him to bowl the carrom ball.
The 21-year-old, who was ruled out of the remainder of the five-Test series after suffering a fracture on his little finger at the Lord’s, had already dismissed Siraj with the carrom ball in the second Test at Edgbaston.
With Ravindra Jadeja (61 not out) threatening to take India home at London, skipper Ben Stokes summoned Bashir for the final act, and the youngster did not disappoint, ousting Siraj with a delivery that bounced and turned viciously.
“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 said he had been working on the variation for some time but only gained the confidence to use it after Moeen was invited to 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.
Chasing 193, India were reeling at 112/8 on the final afternoon, but Jadeja stood firm first with Jasprit Bumrah (5 off 54 balls) and then with Siraj, who resisted 29 deliveries before Bashir, bowling with his left-hand heavily strapped, found the breakthrough.
The delivery, which Siraj played down onto the pitch in front of the crease, spun back and rattled the base of his leg stump, sparking wild celebrations in England camp.
“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 had injured his non-bowling hand trying to take a return catch off Jadeja in India’s first innings. He later underwent surgery, with two pins inserted in his finger as he’s still awaiting clearance five weeks on.
Despite the pain, the spinner was involved in a gritty seven-run partnership with Jofra Archer, scoring two off nine balls in a match England eventually 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 remainder of the series as India clawed back to level it 2-2. His replacement Liam Dawson went wicketless in 47 overs at Old Trafford as 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.
For Indian spinners, Jadeja took seven wickets at 72.4 and Washington Sundar seven scalps at 38.6.
“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. (PTI)
