Ben Stokes praised Shoaib Bashir for demonstrating his international cricket credentials after the 20-year-old off-spinner led England to a series-deciding win against the West Indies in the second Test at Trent Bridge on Sunday. Bashir claimed figures of 5-41 as the West Indies were dismissed for 143 on the fourth evening, with England securing a 241-run victory to establish an insurmountable 2-0 lead in the three-match series. This marked Bashir's third five-wicket haul in only five Tests, his first on English soil following two previous instances on spin-friendly pitches in India earlier this year. His performance was particularly noteworthy as he did not bowl a single delivery and was dismissed for a duck during England's comprehensive 114-run win over the West Indies in the first Test at Lord's. Bashir swiftly removed top-order batsmen Kirk McKenzie, Kavem Hodge, and Alick Athanaze before dismissing Jason Holder and the last man, Shamar Joseph, as the West Indies, chasing 385 to win, collapsed to 143 all out.
England captain Stokes expressed his admiration, stating, "I think what Bash has done today is to show the world what he can do. That wicket hardly offered anything for a spinner throughout the whole Test match and look at what he was able to do today. The way in which he can change his pace, produce over-spin and under-spin... I think he showed his full bag of tricks. He's got so much talent and the ceiling is so, so high. He's got an unbelievable desire and a will to get better and learn." Stokes further commented, "It's really good for a young guy to come out and put in a performance that wins England a Test match, it's pretty cool for him." Despite Bashir's successes in India, he initially struggled to secure a place in the Somerset side at the beginning of the season, which led to his loan move to Worcestershire last month. Nevertheless, England maintained their faith in him.
Stokes explained, "The decisions we make are all based around not only how far we think their talent can take them, but whether we think they're good enough for international cricket straight away. I don't want to sound like it's an 'I told you so' kind of thing but it sort of is." The defeat left the West Indies with only pride to play for in the upcoming third Test at Edgbaston. They showed significant improvement in their batting in Nottingham, scoring 457 in response to England's first-innings 416, before their dramatic collapse on Sunday, which saw all 10 of their second-innings wickets fall in 23 overs.
West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite highlighted the positives, saying, "The big positive was our first innings, scoring 400 runs was great. The two defeats are gone but we still have five Tests matches remaining for this year. So we keep learning and by the end of the year we'll be better off, once we have that correct mindset."
