Once again Shoaib Bashir excelled in an England shirt where he has struggled elsewhere, the 21-year-old taking three of the 11 Zimbabwe wickets to fall at Trent Bridge – more than he managed across three matches for Glamorgan in this year’s County Championship – to become the youngest player to claim 50 Test scalps for his country.
So far 54% of the deliveries in Bashir’s first-class career have been sent down in a senior England shirt, leading to 72% of his wickets. “It’s different times of year, different opposition, batters play you differently,” Bashir said of his comparative success in internationals. “I walk into this England team and I feel 10ft tall because of the backing I get, and that makes a massive difference. I feel like I’m very well backed here. I’m well backed in county cricket as well, but I feel like England cricket is my happy place.”
