Shoaib Bashir declared England's future superstar as Mark Butcher hails spinner

Former England cricketer Mark Butcher has praised Shoaib Bashir's performance in England's recent Test series win over West Indies. The Test series win helped England stabilize their position on the WTC points table.

Previously, Brendon McCullum said that he was happy with the growth of the England Test team. Now Mark Butcher has praised Shoaib Bashir as he felt that he is ahead in the race of his counterparts like Rehan Ahmed and Will Jacks.

Bashir picked up nine wickets in the Test series against West Indies. He bowled at an average of 27.22 and took a fifer as well. The former England batsman said that Bashir's fundamental skills are better than those of Reham Ahmed of Will Jacks.

He's Really Skillful: Mark Butcher On Shoaib Bashir

"I think difference perhaps with Shoaib Bashir in comparison to Rehan Ahmed or Will Jacks, who both had their moments in Pakistan, is that there is a real foundation and fundamental skill he has in terms of his control of length and line, and the fact that even at such a young age he's able to go up and down in terms of pace and flight. He's really skillful, "said Butcher.

He also hailed the young spinner for bowling with a big heart and not getting upset or distracted when the batters were trying to go after him.

"He's not one of these guys who gets upset or ruffled if someone comes after him, he welcomes it, and he seems to know himself well enough to know where he wants fielders and what he's going to do. That's incredible for someone of his young age and gives you a clue of how good he could be, so that's a massive tick for the selectors there," Butcher added.

With England having a long season of Test cricket ahead, Bashir's continuity of form and his fitness will be a question. The England management needs to take good care of him and ensure that he remains fit. Bashir played as the specialist spinner in the series against West Indies. The England management needs to have at least two to three spin options including Bashir so that they can be rotated around.

This is where the roles of Rehan Ahmed and Will Jacks become important. The trio can form a strong core of spin bowling in Test cricket with Moeen Ali and Liam Livingstone performing that role in white-ball cricket.

Jack Leach, a veteran of 35 Test matches for England, played his last Test match against India in January 2024. After playing the first Test against India, Leach was ruled out of the second Test onwards with a knee injury. He is yet to make a comeback to the Test team since then. With England gearing up for a long season of Test cricket, Leach needs to return back to the Test side come the Ashes series next year.

Meanwhile, England can rejoice in the Test series win against West Indies and work on the positives from the series win. They next take on Sri Lanka in a three-match Test series starting on August 21.