Shoaib Bashir hailed the England Test team as his “happy place”, adding he feels “10-foot tall” with the backing he gets as he put a difficult start to the county season behind him with three wickets on day two of the Test against Zimbabwe at Trent Bridge.
Despite being England’s first-choice spinner, Bashir has been unable to get a game at Somerset and, loaned out to Glamorgan, his three appearances yielded just two wickets at 152 apiece.
But, not for the first time, he found the Test arena a happier hunting ground as, thrust into the action early and often by captain Ben Stokes, he prised out Craig Ervine, Sean Williams and Tafadzwa Tsiga to claim 3-62 in the first innings.
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Shoaib Bashir finds the breakthrough for England against Zimbabwe during the afternoon session on day two of their one-off Test
“I’ve really enjoyed being back,” Bashir said after day two. “It’s always nice to put on an England shirt and walk out with the boys.
“I feel like I am very well backed here. I feel backed in county cricket too but England cricket is my happy place. I walk into this England team and feel 10-foot tall because of the backing I get.”
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Relive all the biggest and funniest moments from day two of the one-off Test between England and Zimbabwe at Trent Bridge
Stokes revealed on the eve of the match he called Bashir to reassure him about his slow start to the campaign, a move that clearly had the desired effect.
“He gave me a ring and we had a nice conversation about where I was at. He said to just be ready for when England duty calls,” Bashir explained.
“For me, at the start of the season I am looking to bowl overs. I am still young and a developing spinner. The more I bowl, the more I gather experience and learn about my bowling, so that’s the focus of going out on loan.
“Obviously the results weren’t there and I would have liked for them to be but the main aim was to bowl overs.”
At one stage on day two at Trent Bridge, Bashir suffered a painful finger injury diving for a caught-and-bowled chance, leaving the field long enough for his fit-again captain to take two key wickets in a 20-ball cameo.
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Ben Stokes took out quick wickets on his bowling return for England against Zimbabwe during day two of their one-off Test match
“Whenever Stokesy gets the ball or walks out to bat, you know he’s going to make something happen,” Bashir added.
“You always have to have your eyes on the cricket. He’s happy to be back, and him being a fourth seamer makes a massive difference in our attack.”
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A wonderful moment for Brian Bennett as he sealed Zimbabwe’s fastest Test match ton during day two of the one-off Test match against England
England go into day three still 270 runs ahead, having enforced the follow-on, despite 21-year-old opener Brian Bennett joining Murray Goodwin and Andy Flower on a short list of Zimbabweans to score a century against England.
Bennett notched a magnificent 139 off 143 balls in his team’s 265 all out before he was dismissed cheaply in the second innings as the visitors closed on 30-2.
Watch day three of the one-off Test between England and Zimbabwe live on Sky Sports Cricket and Sky Sports Main Event from 10.15am on Saturday (11am first ball).
