Bashir shows he belongs despite all evidence to the contrary

It would be wrong to judge Sam Cook as a Test cricketer based on one appearance.

Cook's previous 321 red-ball wickets had come at 19.85, earning him the right to 31 overs across both innings of this Zimbabwe Test, even if they only produced 1 for 119. But as that first-class average ticks above 20, a little of the lustre has dulled from a bowler broadly accepted as a true master of his craft. Nevertheless the 27-year-old's overdue Test debut will, for now, be front of the queue for examples of the difficulties with transferring form from the County Championship to the Test format.

And yet, the man leading Cook and his new England teammates off the field at the conclusion of the first Test of the summer was Shoaib Bashir, saluting all corners with the match ball as he went. Somerset's unwanted offspinner, who had taken two wickets at an average of 152 during a three-game loan spell with Division Two Glamorgan, had career-best figures of 6 for 81 - and consequently best match returns of 9 for 143. Not only did he walk off as the matchwinner - for the second time at this ground in an 18-month-old international career - but also as the youngest Englishman to reach the 50-wicket mark.

Before the cascades of "yeah but the average is 36.39", "yeah but he's bowled more overs than anyone" and "yeah but it's Zimbabwe", consider this… it's Shoaib Bashir. A 21-year-old who still talks about himself as "a work in progress". Everything he says is tempered with gratitude and a competition-winner sparkle in his eyes that has not dulled since this six-foot-four, six-first-class-match-experience youngling was thrust into the spotlight of an India tour.

The contrast between the lots of Bashir and Cook are clear, but perhaps more pronounced are what they tell us about this Test side Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes have concocted out of salt and spirit. Cook's nerves, even after pocketing his maiden dismissal three overs into his debut, spoke of an anxiety at wanting to prove he deserved to be at this level, even if he was backed with the new ball and crowded slip cordons. Bashir, on the other hand, has never exuded anything other than a sense that he belongs at this level despite all evidence to the contrary.

It is as much an orchestrated feeling as one hinging on the fact that, unlike Cook, Bashir has no base to retreat to. Prior to his temporary move to Cardiff at the start of this season, Stokes gave him a call and essentially told him not to worry - he'd be back home soon. Even his travails at the start of the year on the Lions tour of Australia, taking just four wickets after a difficult finish to the New Zealand series at the end of 2024, were set against unwavering support from the England management. As Bashir said on Friday evening, "England cricket is my happy place."

The trust in him to bowl long spells allows him to bed in, as he did in the first innings during a stint that began as first-change and was only ended in his 13th over by a botched caught-and-bowled chance that ripped open his left ring finger. All but one of his 18 second-innings overs came on the bounce from the Radcliffe Road End on Saturday.

Crucially, this has not simply been a case of Stokes tossing Bashir the ball and hoping for the best, plugging him in for long stretches to make the prospect of wicket-taking merely an act of probability - an obscure strand of privilege, like some kooky Guinness World Record holder who just so happens to have a really big bath and ready access to that many tins of baked beans.

Over the last year, Bashir has adjusted his release points. This Test, he has been 5cm closer to the stumps when operating over the wicket, with a more noticeable 8cm closer when around, as he was often to Zimbabwe's left-handers. He has also worked on his approach, after realising he needed to be a little bit straighter having noticed an issue when poring over the 524.3 overs he sent down last year.

"My run-up is a bit straighter," Bashir said. "It just allows me to finish off my action a little bit more.

"It also allows me to get better shape on the ball so I can land the ball on the seam and then, if I want miss it for the ball to go straight on, I can do that as well. It just builds into my action nicely and yeah, I just feel like it's quite natural to me."

Granted, the sample size is just the 34.4 overs over the last couple of days, but the results are promising. His lines are neater, with just 16 per cent of his deliveries down the leg-side in this Test, compared to 32 per cent previously. His proportion delivered in the channel outside off has almost doubled in this Test compared to his six previous home Tests.

And of course, there were a few gifts among Saturday's six as Zimbabwe's middle- and lower-order had a dart for a few souvenir runs of this first English Test in 22 years. But there was enough within, say, the first-innings snaring of visiting captain Craig Ervine at first slip and the two bowled dismissals of Tafadzwa Tsiga, both spinning through the gate, that spoke of a personal development that has meant he can meet his captain more than halfway.

On day two, Stokes made a note of imploring Bashir to be a little more patient. Previously, he would have not let any negativity pass his spinner's ears nor tried to overcomplicate matters for a player still working out his place in the game with the gifts he has.

"He's got some unbelievable natural ability, his height and how much he puts on the ball and the ability to change from square to upright seam," Stokes said. "The skill is undoubted, but a big progression with him, I think, is working out building towards a dismissal - not getting too giddy.

"That was the word that he used out there - not getting too giddy with things. He's always in the competition and you can see when he's in the battle.

"For a young inexperienced individual to have those characteristics whilst also wanting to constantly get better and make little tweaks and working with Jeets (Jeetan Patel, spin bowling coach) the way that he does - it's very, very exciting."

It speaks to where England are with Bashir that even Stokes admits it is "an odd story". This kid plucked from obscurity and left exposed in fame ever since.

There are still plenty more chapters to go, all of which Bashir's Islamic faith tells him have already been written. What is clear is that the challenge of India to come next month will determine just how exposed he is - or just how far he has really come.