Shoaib Bashir has admitted he’s “not perfect” despite taking four wickets against New Zealand on the opening day of England’s first Test in Christchurch.
He took 4-69 to limit New Zealand to 319-8 at Hagley Oval. Rachin Ravindra, Tom Blundell, Nathan Smith and Matt Henry were all caught off his deliveries.
The 21-year-old made his Test debut against India in February and has impressed ever since. He has sent down the most deliveries (2,745) of any bowler in Tests this year – over 500 more than the next-busiest bowler in Sri Lanka's Prabath Jayasuriya.
Bashir, however, remains keen to improve despite his shining display in New Zealand.
"I wouldn't say I was disappointed but there was a bit of frustration when I was bowling out in Pakistan," Bashir told the Test Match Special podcast.
"I'm still 21, I've still got a lot of learning to do. I'm just enjoying every moment and I'm just so thankful."
Bashir had an economy of 3.45 on the first day, the third-best of the bowling attack, and bowled 20 overs, the most on the squad.
Only Indian bowlers Jasprit Bumrah (49) and Ravichandran Ashwin (46) have more wickets than the 45 that Bashir has claimed this year.
"I knew that if I did come on, I'd have a job to do and thankfully, I controlled the run-rate which was handy," said Bashir.
"I was bowling a touch slower but I was focusing on controlling my line with the wind.
"Because the wind was very strong, I was trying to focus on what I needed to do with my body to get the line I needed to bowl, which was outside off.”
His four-fer on the first day means Bashir is just one wicket away from becoming the only spin bowler to ever claim a five-wicket haul at the Hagley Oval.
But the on-loan Worcestershire bowler remains grounded about his abilities.
"I'm learning on the job and I'm not perfect. Two years ago I didn't have a county. I'm just very, very thankful for what has happened over the last year,” Bashir added.
Vince, Rohid help Powell’s Delhi Bulls defeat Chennai Jaguars Braves
Captain Rovman Powell failed to fire but hid Delhi Bulls secured their second win of the 2024 Abu Dhabi T10 season with a six-wicket win over the Chennai Braves Jaguars at the Zayed Cricket Stadium on Thursday.
The Jaguars made a respectable 97-6 off their 10 overs after being put in to bat by the Bulls.
Dan Lawrence made 26 off 15 balls while Mohammed Shamaaz made 19* off 10 to lead the Jaguars against 3-16 off two overs from man of the match Muhammad Rohid.
A 74-run opening partnership between Englishmen James Vince and Tom Banton then set up the successful chase for the Bulls.
Vince led the way with a 19-ball 42 while Banton made 30 off 16 balls as the pair put on 74 in 5.3 overs for the first wicket.
The chase was then completed thanks to a rapid 20* off six balls from Pakistani Shadab Khan including three sixes.
Thisara Perera and Zubair Khan spit the four wickets equally between them.
Full Scores:
Chennai Braves Jaguars 97-6 off 10 overs (Dan Lawrence 26, Mohammed Shamaaz 19*, Muhammad Rohid 3-16)
Delhi Bulls 103-4 off 8 overs (James Vince 42, Tom Banton 30, Shadab Khan 20*, Zubair Khan 2-7, Thisara Perera 2-9).
Ghulam's maiden ODI century helps Pakistan to series win against Zimbabwe
Kamran Ghulam’s maiden ODI ton helped Pakistan to beat Zimbabwe by 99 runs as they came from behind to win the third and final match of their series in Bulawayo.
It was the second consecutive ODI Series in which Pakistan have made a comeback to win 2-1, having defeated Australia in similar fashion earlier this month.
Pakistan ran up a total of 303-6, having got off to a strong start as opener Abdullah Rafique made his fifth half-century off 68 balls before Ghulam's 103 from 99 deliveries put the tourists in the ascendency.
Zimbabwe’s bowling attack left much to be desired as Pakistan were able to plunder 69 runs from the last five overs, leaving the Chevrons with an uphill task of claiming an unlikely victory.
Pakistan’s bowlers were in far better form as, aside from Craig Ervine's half-century, Zimbabwe struggled to find a rhythm at the crease, with Brian Bennett (37) the only other batter to make it past 30 runs.
Saim Ayub (2-29), Abrar Ahmed (2-45), Haris Rauf (2-45), and Aamir Jamal (2-19) did much of the damage, limiting Zimbabwe to just 204 runs in their chase as their innings finished with just under 10 overs remaining.
Data Debrief – Unwanted milestone for Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe have become the fifth team to record 400 losses in men’s ODI history, joining Sri Lanka (453), India (445), Pakistan (430) and the West Indies (415) to surpass that total.
They have also won only one of their last eight matches in the format (L7), an 80-run victory against Pakistan in the first game of this series (24 November 2024).
Pakistan, on the other hand, have now won four of their last five men’s ODIs away from home (L1). It’s more than they won across their eight such fixtures prior to that span (W2 L6).
Pooran hits 36* off just 13 balls to help Gladiators to fifth win in six games
Captain Nicholas Poorna hit 36* off just 13 balls to help the Deccan Gladiators chase down 73 in just five overs to defeat the Bangla Tigers in Abu Dhabi T10 action at the Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Thursday.
The Tigers made 72-6 from their 10 overs after losing the toss and being asked to bat first.
Iftikhar Ahmed (19), captain Shakib Al Hasan (15*) and Rashid Khan (12) were the only Tigers batsmen to reach double figures as pacer Richard Gleeson took 3-10 from his two overs of pace and Maheesh Theekshana took 2-16 from his two overs of mystery spin.
Pooran then led the way with the bat with his knock including five sixes while Jos Buttler provided good support with 29* off 13 balls including one four and three sixes as the Gladiators needed only 5.1 overs to reach 74-1.
The Gladiators now have five wins in six games to lead the points table with 10 points.
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