"He's got so much talent" - Ben Stokes' ultimate praise for 'unbelievable' Shoaib Bashir after 2nd ENG vs WI Test

England skipper Ben Stokes was full of praises for his young off-spinner Shoaib Bashir after the latter's match-winning bowling performance against West Indies at Trent Bridge, Nottingham. Stokes lauded Bashir's work ethic and claimed that the youngster had an 'unbelievable desire to get better.'

Bashir was brilliant on Day 4 of the Test and showed his full range of skills. He used the drift and dip to perfection to fox West Indies batters on what seemed like a good batting surface. Bashir produced figures of 5-41 in the second innings, which included the wickets of four out of the top six batters.

He dismissed Kirk McKenzie, Alick Athanaze, Kavem Hodge, and Jason Holder to break the back of the West Indies batting line-up. Fittingly, he picked up the last wicket of the match to remove Shamar Joseph and take England to a big win.

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Ben Stokes lauds Shoaib Bashir after his match-winning performance at Trent Bridge

After the match, Stokes lauded Bashir for his aggressive intent and an attacking approach. He added that the young offspinner had shown the world what he could actually do.

“He (Shoaib Bashir) has got so much talent, and he’s got an unbelievable desire to get better. His intent is to always take wickets and never just to hold an end up. It’s really good for a young guy to put in a performance that wins England a Test. He was pretty emotional at the end. It’s a pretty cool day for him. He has shown the world what he can do,” Ben Stokes hailed Shoaib Bashir.

This was Bashir's third five-wicket haul in Tests and his first at home. He has now surpassed the legendary James Anderson to become the youngest England bowler to take three five-wicket hauls in Tests.

By taking a five-wicket haul at Trent Bridge, Bashir became the first spinner since Muttiah Muralitharan to pick up a Test five-wicket haul at Trent Bridge. Muralitharan achieved the feat in 2006.

Ben Stokes impressed with Shoaib Bashir's skills on a flat pitch

England captain praised Bashir for producing a brilliant bowling performance on a flat pitch which wasn't offering too much for the bowlers. But Bashir used his skills brilliantly to open up West Indies' batting line-up.

“Bash showed what he could do in India with conditions in his favour, but the pitch this week didn’t really offer much for spin, and he has taken seven wickets in the match. The ability he had to be able to change his pace, change his line, and manipulate how he wanted the ball to react out of the surface was top-class. I don’t want to sound like it’s an ‘I told you so’ kind of thing, but it sort of is,” Stokes stated.

“The decisions we make are all based around not only how far we think talent can take a player, but if we think they’re good enough for international cricket straight away,” the England allrounder added.

Ben Stokes deserves the plaudits for bringing Shoaib Bashir into the England team despite his inexperience in County cricket. It is believed that Stokes was highly impressed with Bashir after he saw him bowling an over to Alastair Cook during a game in County cricket.

He contacted England's head coach Brendon McCullum and asked the selectors to pick Bashir for the away series against India. The young off-spinner bowled attacking lines and lengths in the series and picked up 17 wickets in three Tests at an average of 33.35. He also picked up 2 five-wicket hauls in the series.