“Exactly what Nathan Lyon does to opponents” is how Nasser Hussain describes Shoaib Bashir’s bowling ability

The youthful off-spinner Shoaib Bashir impressed during the Lord’s Test against Sri Lanka, as noted by former England captain Nasser Hussain. Hussain was impressed by Bashir’s performance on day two, even though he bowled just seven overs. Bashir was likened to the legendary Australian spinner Nathan Lyon.

England has placed their belief in 20-year-old Bashir as they get ready for the Ashes series in Australia the following year, hoping to find a spinner who can duplicate Nathan Lyon’s effect. Hussain was especially pleased that Bashir fired Prabath Jayasuriya.

“Shoaib Bashir only bowled seven overs on Friday, but his quality of bowling really impressed me.” After putting Prabath Jayasuriya on strike, he flew magnificently, following three deliveries at 53–54 mph with one held back. Jayasuriya dashed in, believing he had reached the ball’s pitch, only to find that he was still half a yard short. Spinning, it passed through the gate. Although it’s early and he still needs to improve his line control against right-handers, Hussain noted in his Daily Mail column that ‘there have been positive indicators that Bashir will be hard to get down the pitch to in Australia next year’.

He wasn’t bowling at Sri Lanka’s tail, despite what some may say: Nasser Hussain

The former captain of England also emphasised how good Shoaib Bashir was against a batsman who was skilled at playing spin, Kamindu Mendis. Although most of the time Bashir may seem to be bowling to tailenders, Nasser Hussain contended that this was not the case. He made unambiguous analogies to Lyon’s bowling approach. In addition, he gave Bashir credit for his accuracy in picking up new skills quickly while on the run.

“He wasn’t bowling at Sri Lanka’s tail, despite what some people may say. He was bowling at Kamindu Mendis, a player with many hundreds in Bangladeshi Test cricket who grew up playing against a lot of spin. Prior to the 2019 Ashes, Bashir, 20, has been selected to attempt to emulate Australia’s renowned off-spinner Nathan Lyon. This was the most balls dropped in his brief career, in my opinion. It demonstrates his rapid learning speed,” he continued.

Hussain looked upbeat about Bashir’s prospects even though he acknowledged that there was still need for growth in certain areas, including as line control against right-handed batters. Additionally, he brought up an intriguing argument about batters moving down the pitch in opposition to spinners. The former captain of England feels that most hitters will find it difficult to smash Bashir for a six with their feet.

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Although it’s early and he still needs to improve his line control against right-handers, there are encouraging indicators that Bashir will be difficult to get down the pitch to in Australia the following season. Overall, England performed well and had the appearance of a team that had played a lot of cricket at Lord’s. With their pitch placement on day one, Sri Lanka appeared to be a team that hadn’t played much cricket here, while England and Bashir showed intelligence’, Hussain said.