‘Exactly what Nathan Lyon does to opponents’ – Nasser Hussain opens up on Shoaib Bashir’s bowling potential

Nathan Lyon and Shoaib Bashir. (Source – Twitter/X)

Former England skipper Nasser Hussain recently mentioned the impressive performance of young off-spinner Shoaib Bashir during the Lord’s Test against Sri Lanka. Despite bowling only seven overs on day two, Bashir’s caught Hussain’s attention, drawing comparisons to Australian spin legend, Nathan Lyon.

As England prepares for next year’s Ashes series in Australia, the search for a spinner capable of replicating Nathan Lyon’s impact has put their trust in 20-year-old Bashir. Hussain was particularly impressed with Bashir’s dismissal of Prabath Jayasuriya.

“Shoaib Bashir only sent down seven overs on Friday, but I was really impressed with the quality of his bowling. Then, when he got Prabath Jayasuriya on strike, he followed three deliveries at 53-54 miles per hour with one held back and flighted beautifully. Jayasuriya came running down and thought he’d got to the pitch of the ball, only to be half a yard short. It spun and went through the gate. It’s early doors and he needs to work on his control of line to the right-handers, but there have been good signs that in Australia next year, Bashir will be hard to get down the pitch to,” wrote Hussain in his column for Daily Mail.

Also Read: England maintain dominance against Sri Lanka on Day 2 at Lord’s

People will say that he was bowling at Sri Lanka’s tail, but he wasn’t: Nasser Hussain

The former England captain also highlighted Shoaib Bashir’s effectiveness against Kamindu Mendis, a batter well-versed in playing spin. Nasser Hussain argued that people may perceive Bashir as bowling to tailenders most of the time but that was not the case. He drew direct comparisons to Lyon’s bowling style. Besides, he also commended Bashir for his precision while learning on the go in quick time.

“People will say that he was bowling at Sri Lanka’s tail, but he wasn’t. He was bowling at Kamindu Mendis, a player who grew up playing against lots of spin and someone with multiple hundreds in Test cricket in Bangladesh. Bashir, 20, has been picked to try and replicate Australia’s world-class off-spinner Nathan Lyon ahead of next year’s Ashes and this was the most drop I have seen him get on the ball in his short career. It shows he is a quick learner,” he further added.

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While acknowledging areas for improvement, such as control of line against the right-handed batter, Hussain seemed optimistic about Bashir’s potential. Moreover, he also pointed out an interesting aspect which was batters getting down the pitch against spinners. The former England skipper believes that most batters will have a tough time using the feet against Bashir to hit him for a six.

“It’s early doors and he needs to work on his control of line to the right handers, but there have been good signs that in Australia next year, Bashir will be hard to get down the pitch to. England were good as a collective too, looking like a side that has played a lot of cricket at Lord’s. Sri Lanka looked like a side that hadn’t played much cricket here with their field placing on day one, but England, and Bashir, showed nous,” Hussain concluded.