Shoaib Bashir – a rookie spinner with “world class” potential – has been handed a shock call-up for England’s new year Test tour of India, just six months after making his first-class debut for Somerset.
The 20-year-old off-spinner only made his LV= Insurance County Championship bow in June but has been fast-tracked to the very highest level after just six senior red-ball appearances.
Bashir’s track record is wafer thin – with 10 wickets to his name at an average of 67 – but he impressed on a recent England Lions training camp in the United Arab Emirates and will travel as one of three uncapped players in a 16-strong squad.
The others, Lancashire’s left-arm spinner Tom Hartley and Surrey quick Gus Atkinson, have represented their country in white-ball cricket and were fancied to make the five-match trip.
Director of men’s cricket Rob Key heads the selection panel that made a similar call 12 months ago when drafting 18-year-old leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed for the tour of Pakistan.
Ahmed, who also travels as one of four frontline slow bowlers, went on to take a five-wicket haul on debut in Karachi and Key insists investing in promising individuals is the correct course – particularly in a discipline that is notoriously under-served by the domestic game.
“Life is always about how good someone’s good is, not how bad their bad is,” he said.
“He’s very raw – he’s going for experience as much as anyone else, albeit we won’t be afraid to play him if required. This is the start of his journey, where we will hopefully see a world-class spinner in the future.
“He’s got one of the higher release points in the game, he just looks like everything that you see in a classical off-spinner: a bit of real craft, a bit of real guile and a decent character as well.
“It can be different if you’re bowling at Virat Kohli out in India in front of 50,000 people but we feel like his character is very solid and he looks like his ceiling is very high.
“It’s very hard, especially for spinners in English cricket to judge them on their numbers as such. You’re not going to expect your spinner to average 24 with the ball in county cricket, you’re trying to see something else and back their character. You want to see how the ball comes out of their hand and make those judgements. You’re going more to the art of selection, rather than the science of selection.”
England may need to continue thinking creatively when it comes to balancing their XI in India, with Key admitting there is next to no chance of captain Ben Stokes being able to bowl so soon after surgery on a longstanding left-knee issue.
Stokes is currently recovering and, while hopes are high he will be ready for the first Test on January 25 in Hyderabad, it will be as a specialist batter.
“The surgery has been a success and we expect him to be fit but we are not expecting him to be able to bowl at that point,” said Key.
“We never had him down to be bowling in India. We won’t try to rush through it. It does make it trickier but, as long as you know that, you can come up with a plan.”
Senior spinner Jack Leach is fit again after a stress fracture of the back saw him miss last summer’s Ashes series, but Chris Woakes drops out following his player-of-the-series efforts against Australia and may have played his last overseas Test.
Hartley, a tall left-armer who England feel can cause problems by spearing the ball quickly into the pitch, has effectively been selected over the more experienced Liam Dawson.
The Hampshire veteran was touted for a possible return after an excellent domestic season but has been left to pursue franchise opportunities. Will Jacks, the big-hitting Surrey all-rounder currently on England white-ball duty in the Caribbean, has also been left out and will take up T20 deals over the winter.
Wicketkeeper Ben Foakes travels despite losing the gloves to Jonny Bairstow against Australia and could be a strong candidate to break back into the first choice XI given the importance of the role in the sub-continent.
With Stuart Broad retired, there are four fast bowlers chosen: James Anderson, Ollie Robinson, Mark Wood and Atkinson.
England squad for Test tour of India: B Stokes (c), R Ahmed, J Anderson, G Atkinson, J Bairstow (wkt), S Bashir, H Brook, Z Crawley, B Duckett, B Foakes (wkt), T Hartley, J Leach, O Pope, O Robinson, J Root, M Wood.
Turning the tide: Windies captain Powell cautiously optimistic about comeback in T20 series against England
Though facing an uphill task in their five-match T20 series against England, West Indies captain Rovman Powell is cautiously optimistic that they can produce a comeback to not only overturn a challenging 2-0 deficit but to go all the way in the series.
Powell’s sentiments served as a rallying cry of sorts as they stare down a must-win situation in the third encounter at the Darren Sammy Cricket Ground in St Lucia on Thursday to keep the series alive.
Still, Powell expressed confidence that the Caribbean setting, coupled with a few strategic changes, will bolster their fightback.
“St. Lucia is always a good place for us. It provides an opportunity for us to play good cricket, and the wicket is generally a good one, probably the best one in the Caribbean,” Powell said in a pre-game interview.
“The people of St Lucia always come out to support us, which is also good, and so we're looking forward to the next three games. Hopefully they can come out and support us, and we can deliver some good cricket,” he added.
After two tough matches in Barbados, which England won by eight wickets and seven wickets, respectively, Powell emphasized the significance of a renewed focus while also pointing to the need for every player to take personal accountability heading into the crucial contest.
“I think it’s a case of each guy reflecting on how things have gone so far from an individual perspective to see if we as individuals are bringing enough to the table, and then we try our best to try to put it together as a team. We have areas that definitely need work, but the guys are in good spirits. We had a good training session today, so we’re hoping to hit the ground running,” Powell explained.
St Lucia is not only familiar territory but also presents a new beginning, especially with the return of key pacer Alzarri Joseph from a two-match suspension.
Powell believes Joseph’s presence will fortify a bowling attack that has struggled in the opening games, as England easily chased down 182 and 158 in both games.
“If you should look at our bowling department, we really needed him in those games. So, it's important for him to come and hit the straps and hit the ground running. As a bowling group, we have areas where we need to control the power play because the middle overs generally take care of themselves, and he will come to bowl some of those overs in the backend,” he shared.
Despite the uphill battle, Powell cited the Caribbean side’s recent successes over the past 18 months as a reminder of their potential.
“It's a little uncomfortable being 2-0 to be honest; it's a position that we haven't found ourselves in in a long time, but it's an opportunity for us to show what we are made of as a T20 team,” Powell declared.
“England is a team that we have played quite often these days, and we have had good results against them. It's just unfortunate that Barbados wasn't good for us in terms of T20 cricket, but St Lucia provides a new opportunity for us to come out and play some good cricket,” the Jamaican reasoned.
Finally, Powell reiterated the importance of a victory on Thursday, not only to stay in the series but also to set the stage for an exhilarating weekend of cricket. The final two encounters are scheduled for Saturday and Sunday.
“It's a case of us getting back into the series; we just need a win, and once we get the win tomorrow, we can go from there. The guys are upbeat; even though we are 2-0 down, they are in a good frame of mind and ready to play good cricket,” the captain ended.
Tilak's unbeaten ton helps India take lead against South Africa
Tilak Varma smashed an unbeaten 107 as India went 2-1 up in their T20I series against South Africa, claiming a nail-biting victory in Wednesday's third match in Centurion.
Following their surprise defeat in Sunday's second match, the tourists bounced back to earn their 10th win in their last 12 outings in the format, putting them on the brink of a series triumph.
Tilak was the star of the show as he produced comfortably the best score of his T20I career, surpassing a knock of 55 versus Bangladesh last year in some style, while only facing 56 balls.
He hit eight fours and seven maximums to set South Africa a target of 220 for victory, with Abhishek Sharma scoring 50 from 25 deliveries in support before Keshav Maharaj broke their partnership in the ninth over.
Despite six of India's batsmen scoring 18 runs or fewer and four – Sanju Samson (0), Suryakumar Yadav (1), Rinku Singh (8) and Axar Patel (1) – being limited to single figures, the damage had largely been done already.
South Africa were then dropped to 84-4 within their first 10 overs as Varun Chakravarthy claimed the crucial wickets of Reeza Hendricks (12) and Aiden Markram (29).
Heinrich Klaasen's incredible 54 off 17 balls dragged South Africa back into contention, and they required 18 runs from four deliveries in a grandstand finish, but Arshdeep Singh trapped the hosts' dangerman lbw to secure India's victory.
Having fallen short of their target by just 11 runs, the Proteas must now win Friday's fourth match to salvage a 2-2 draw from the series.
Data Debrief: Big-hitting India on the brink
Tilak recorded a strike rate of 191.07 while Abhishek was at 200.00 as their early partnership powered India towards victory.
India have now hit over 200 sixes in T20I matches this calendar year, only previously surpassing that figure in the format in one previous year – recording 289 in 2022.
Kusal and Avishka centuries take series opener for Sri Lanka
Kusal Mendis and Avishka Fernando guided Sri Lanka to a 45-run victory via the DLS Method in the first match of their ODI series against New Zealand on Wednesday.
On a rain-soaked day, the hosts ended their eight-match losing streak at the Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium with a dominant display from start to finish.
After electing to bat, Sri Lanka were dealt an early blow when Pathum Nissanka (12) was caught by Nathan Smith from Jacob Duffy's delivery in the second over.
However, Kusal would join Avishka at the crease and put the hosts in control, with the pair putting on a 206-run stand.
The duo's contribution formed the bulk of Sri Lanka's 324-5, with Sadeera Samarawickrama (five), Charith Asalanka (40) and Janith Liyanage (12 not out) concluding their innings.
New Zealand started well in their run chase through Will Young (35) and Tim Robinson (35) before the latter was stumped by Mendisb Theekshana in the 13th over.
That kickstarted the tourists' collapse, with the dismissals of Young, Henry Nicholls (six), Mark Chapman (two) and Glenn Phillips (nine) leaving New Zealand 110-5 after 17 overs.
Michael Bracewell's 34 from 32 deliveries steadied the ship somewhat but the damage had been done, with the tourists falling short of their target by 45 runs.
Data Debrief: It's coming home
Sri Lanka have won five of their last six multi-game bilateral men’s ODI series (L1), including each of their last two, and they got off to a perfect start in Dambulla.
The Lions' victory was their first in the format at the Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium since a seven-wicket win against Pakistan back in August 2014.
They were helped by Kusal's knock of 143 from 128 deliveries, which was his fourth ODI century but his first on home soil since 2020.
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