How Bashir slipped from being England's No. 1 spinner to an afterthought

You can tie yourself in knots over the situation around Shoaib Bashir.

Was it brave to invest Test caps in a novice spinner with just six first-class appearances on attributes alone? Or braver still to cash out just 19 caps in, prior to the moment that this investment might have paid out?

England have done the latter. Ahead of a make-or-break third Test against Australia at the spin-amenable Adelaide Oval, they have parked their primary spinner. At 2-0 down, Bashir's appearance on this tour may now only come once England's Ashes hopes are no more.

It is quite the statement, and yet one that became more predictable with each passing day down under. A poor pre-series outing at Lilac Hill - Bashir bowled for both England and the Lions, returning overall figures of 2 for 151 - was followed by another against Australia A at Allan Border Field (0 for 115). The latter more damning for the presence of Will Jacks in England's XI at the Gabba, who has looked a better option in various net sessions across three different states.

"I would be surprised if their No. 1 spinner isn't playing, if I'm honest with you," Nathan Lyon said of Bashir before England announced their XI. There is maybe a faint whiff of irony that he returns to Australia's XI as the man loosely pegged as a Lyon prototype on account of height and over-spin was shunned. Ultimately, they are completely different: a master in his twilight years, and a novice seemingly no closer to working things out.

Like Bashir's selection for the tour of India in 2024, Jacks was a punt; a batting allrounder overlooked by this Test set-up for a good two years until they had a spot spare and decided to indulge their imagination. And similar to Bashir, in a short space of time, Jacks has emerged as the incumbent.

"He's a very young lad and has had some unbelievable opportunities so far in his short career," Ben Stokes said of Bashir, who just last week was underlined as the headline twirler by his captain, even after Jacks got the nod for the second Test.

"In a perfect world, back in the day when we're planning for Australia, you're hoping… you don't think that you're going to be in the situation, but this is where we are. So, you know, we had to make a decision based on that."

That hope was evidently two-way. Bashir has been given the chance to make a compelling case. And, to be fair, he has taken what he can.

That immediate drop-in to India, with its relentlessness and heavy focus on his specific craft, was assured, impressing teammates with his chutzpah and infectious personality. His 17 wickets at 33.35 were exciting as an immensely promising starting base.

The best it got was the following series against West Indies. Backed at the start of the 2024 summer over his then Somerset team-mate Jack Leach - Stokes' first No. 1 - he took perhaps the most instructive of his four five-wicket hauls, spinning England to victory with 5 for 41 at Trent Bridge. Genuine skill, appetising flight, and consistent threat.

The two hauls against India earlier were more down to the volume of overs. The 6 for 81 at the start of this recent summer was a product of a lacklustre Zimbabwe. In between, something got lost or stunted. But it certainly was not his enthusiasm.

Bashir's endeavour and drive for self-improvement is something to savour. His willingness was typified a few months ago against India when, after breaking in his left hand during the Lord's Test, he returned to bowl on the final day. Fulfilling the requisite overs in the field to allow him to do so, he took the final wicket of Mohammed Siraj. The nature of it all, including the dismissal, as Siraj defended into the ground only for the ball to spin back onto his stumps, left Stokes, by no means a spiritual man, wondering if it had been written in the stars.

Cricket, of course, does not work like that. And Bashir will be wrestling with its cruelness right now. It is hard not to feel sorry for him, particularly as he is without a county after Somerset chose not to renew his contract at the end of the summer. A chastening few months have extended into what was supposed to be a trip of a lifetime.

Essentially, the England Test side was his home club. His numbers reflect as much. Of his 87 first-class wickets, 69 have come in Tests. And if you cordon off his numbers at the top level, his first-class average - for Somerset, Worcestershire, Glamorgan and England Lions - is 89.57.

So, what now? Well, nothing. The next stages of Bashir's career are a new kind of unknown. It is hard to recall any previous hot-housing of talent quite like this. The risk of it has, ultimately, been entirely on his shoulders, even if he has never lost that "competition winner" gratitude of being chosen to live out a dream. One he had all but given up on in 2023, before that fateful clip of bowling to Sir Alastair Cook on his red-ball debut caught Stokes' eye on social media.

Questions can and should be asked about the coaching. But at the same time, how much work could England assistant Jeetan Patel have actually done? Bashir's lack of regular playing time was clearly a hindrance. As a centrally contracted player, it was the ECB who facilitated his loan spell to Glamorgan at the start of this summer. But they cannot force Somerset to re-sign him, or push him into counties even if they are footing the bill.

At this juncture, they remain in sole charge of his development, a connection that will likely remain in place even if they choose not to extend the 12-month deal he signed in October.

"That's [for] next summer," said Stokes, answering specifically on whether Jacks was his new No. 1 spinner.

On the face of it, the England captain was kicking the can down the road. But his insistence that the selection of Jacks related to his merits with "both" facets rather than just his superiority with the bat was telling.

"I think when he got into his rhythm with the ball as well, he looked good," Stokes mused of Jacks' work in the previous Test. "We're 2-0 down, and we're trying to give ourselves the best chance with bat and ball."

That may be the toughest blow for Bashir. Having been primed over the last two years for this very Ashes series, he has been overlooked at a time and a place that was hoped to be his.