"He is the real deal": Mark Butcher hails Bashir

Mark Butcher (Pic: File Pic)

Former England cricketer Mark Butcher hailed young spinner Shoaib Bashir following his five-wicket haul in the second test match against West Indies.

A fifer from Bashir crushed the West Indies' dream of a comeback as they were skittled out for 143 runs during a run-chase of 385 runs after a glorious fightback during the second Test at Nottingham. WI had gained a first-inning lead of 41 runs, scoring 457 in reply to England's first-inning total of 416 runs. But the Three Lions' commendable batting display led by Harry Brook and Joe Root helped the hosts to 425 runs, setting 385 for the visitors to win. WI could not stay alive in the series as Bashir's spell pushed them to the backfoot and England sealed a 2-0 series win with a game to go.

Speaking on the Wisden Cricket Weekly podcast on Monday, Butcher was all praises for the young spinner, seeing a bright future ahead for him.

"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," said Mark Butcher.

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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.

Further, Mark Butcher said that when there was some assistance and a turn on the pitch in the second innings, it was body difficult to play Shoaib Bashir because of his height, pace and bounce.

Mark Butcher also heaped praise on captain Ben Stokes for working with Bashir as he was sympathetic to him and set the right fields for him.

"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.

"He (Bashir) is able to to bowl tightly enough and his captain is able to set fields that allow his good balls not to go for runs meaning that batters then have to have a little bit of a dip at him, which they are encouraged to do because Stokes would not put the field back," he added.

Butcher said that it is a great combination of being skilful and also having an understanding captain.

With this five-wicket haul, it was Shoaib Bashir's third fifer in international career. Following the win, England is now leading the three-match Test series by 2-0 against West Indies. Ben Stokes and Co. have the chance to white-wash the series if they manage to secure a victory in the third and final test against the Caribbeans.
In the second Test, the West Indies won the toss and opted to bowl first.

(With ANI Inputs)