Bashir showed flashes of brilliance during his debut year in Test cricket, playing decisive roles in wins at Trent Bridge and Christchurch while taking 49 wickets in 2024.
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Read MoreIn Pakistan, a series England lost 2-1 after home spinners Sajid Khan and Noman Ali ran riot, Bashir averaged 49.55.
Coach Brendon McCullum continued to back the Somerset spinner after that series and intimated he would remain in England’s XI for an Ashes series that starts in Perth on 21 November.
“He’s learned a lot about what may be required in the next little while; it’s not just bowling teams out in the last innings in favourable conditions. It’s about being able to challenge and create that variation at the other end that allows seamers to rotate.
Whether or not England have a rethink on Bashir remains doubtful.
Starting in the 2021-21 Ashes, when Covid concerns made Cricket Australia keen for quicker finishes, pitches Down Under have been far spicier than previously.
That was shown in the India series just gone, when just 15 wickets fell to spin across five Tests.
India’s Jasprit Bumrah, meanwhile, took 32 at 13.06, while Australia’s Pat Cummins’ 25 wickets came at 21.36.
When you look at how successful spin has been Down Under in the past decade, only Ashwin and Jadeja have had any real success and that was during India’s series wins in 2018-19 and 2020-21. The next best performer in that period for an overseas slow bowler? Step forward South Africa’s Keshav Maharaj, who took four wickets at 40 in 2016.
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Read MoreEven Graeme Swann, England’s greatest spinner of the past 50 years, only took 15 wickets at 39.80 back in 2010-11.
With England hopefully having a plethora of pace options and the latest injury blow to Stokes casting doubt on how much the captain may be able to bowl in future, playing without a spinner in Australia next time looks like an appealing option.
And what to do when the frontline seamers need a breather in the Tests or England want something different? Well, Stokes could come on as a shock bowler for short, sharp bursts, Joe Root could turn his arm over with his part-time spin, as could Jacob Bethell if he has managed to break into the XI on a permanent basis by then.
It is not that Bashir is not talented or does not have a bright future. But is exposing him in a country where visiting spinners, and many who are far more accomplished than him, routinely get butchered really the best ploy?
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