At Wells Cathedral School Ground in August 2022, Berkshire U18s faced Somerset U18s, securing a surprise eight-wicket victory. The victory was achieved by the five for 26, won by a tall 18-year-old off-spinner: Shoaib Bashir.
"He was able to create indecision through the air with the amount of energy he put on the ball," recalls Matt Drakeley, head of talent route at Somerset. Drakeley was also impressed with Bashir's pace and resilience. In time, these qualities would convince England to make Bashir one of their most daring Test match selections.
Two days after Berkshire's win, Drakeley sent a WhatsApp message to Berkshire head coach Tom Lambert. Drakeley was interested in giving Bashir opportunities in Somerset's second XI.
Lambert was emphatic in endorsing both Bashir's character and his cricket. "He's an incredibly competitive, brilliantly behaved boy," says Lambert. With the ball, Bashir's qualities were just as evident: "the high release point, the drift he gets on the ball, his control of the pace and his ability to always hit the length with precision".
Bashir took nine wickets in two Somerset Second XI matches in late 2022. "We have to sign this boy," Steven Davies, the former England wicketkeeper, told Andy Rush, Somerset's director of cricket. "He does some things with the ball that are far beyond his maturity in years."
When Lambert inquired about how Bashir was doing for the second XI, Drakeley told him: "He's been very impressive over the last two weeks". In October 2022, just six weeks after playing for Berkshire U18s, Bashir signed his first professional contract with Somerset.
His first involvement with the county came at the age of nine when Bashir joined the Surrey academy. "He's definitely gotten bigger, but the way he bowls hasn't changed much," recalls Gareth Townsend, the former Surrey academy director. "He was never a big spinner of the ball - he relied heavily on drift, flight and his pace."
Growing up in Woking, Bashir did not play a single school match as Fullbrook School, his secondary school, did not play the game at all. What was unusual among Surrey's leading young players was that Bashir's education was not private. Last year at the County Championship, 88 per cent of England-qualified players from Surrey attended independent schools, according to recent research by Stephen Hope.
The story continues
"You don't have an advantage if you go to public school," Townsend says. "You don't really have a network of support outside of the Surrey pathway. So it can be more difficult. People don't talk about you that much: 'Oh, did you see so and so, he bowled well against Wellington'."
Although Bashir was part of Surrey's journey, players had to be nominated for assessment by a local club, school or other cricket organisation. The system has since been replaced by a blind video assessment: a change intended to make the process more meritocratic, although there are fears that some schools are using professional videographers to maximize their players' chances of being identified.
At Woking College, his sixth form, Bashir enjoyed using the winter nets for training, bringing his passion to the classroom.
"He always discussed cricket and incorporated it into his work," recalls Selina Mahmood, Bashir's business teacher. During a module where students had to come up with a business pitch, Bashir's idea for a cricket coaching academy was; he presented the idea "in true Dragons' Den style". Bashir received a star of distinction in his BTEC double distinction in business.
Instead of school, Bashir's route to the game was aided by two boards that are essential for young players. First, the family: as a boy, Bashir played incessantly with his uncle and older brother on the local public nets. Secondly, a local club. Always an off-spinner, he rose through the youth ranks at Guildford Cricket Club before making his first-team debut at the age of 15. Bashir was known for his competitiveness, friendliness, love of the game and loud calls.
"The main thing that strikes me is his mentality," recalls Olly Birts, captain of Bashir's first team at Guildford. "He quickly became someone you could throw the ball to at any time and have complete confidence that he would deliver.
"He was always a dream captain, always wanted the ball, was never afraid of a challenge and delivered 99 percent of the time. He learned very quickly." As Guildford's wickets were often flat and dry, Bashir often opened the bowling.
"He was a very modest, shy and reserved character off the pitch, but a fierce competitor on it," recalls Neil Garrett, Bashir's former coach at Guildford. "His work ethic, availability and dedication to practice were always excellent."
Perhaps most striking was Bashir's zeal for self-improvement. "At the end of every game he wanted feedback from the coach, what needed to be adjusted, what could be improved. We worked very hard on his mental approach to bowling, not just releasing the ball, but what the aim of each delivery was. He liked that philosophy because he saw an opportunity to take a wicket with every ball."
Around the ages of 16 and 17, Bashir shot up to 6 feet tall. "The growth spurt has held him back somewhat," says Birts. In late 2021, around his 18th birthday, Bashir was released by Surrey; he made plans to study accounting and finance at university. Townsend, who had left Surrey a few months earlier, told Bashir: "Ask somewhere else if you can get some cricket, if you can get people to watch you."
So did Bashir. Lambert, the Berkshire head coach, had previously seen Bashir bowling for the Surrey underage side. When he heard of Bashir's release, he contacted him.
During the winter of 2021-2022, Bashir traveled more than an hour twice a week to train at the Berkshire nets. "He was brilliant, full of energy - an incredible competitor, he just wanted to train all the time," Lambert remembers. "He was integrated into our system very, very quickly and got along very well with the boys. He's the salt of the earth, he's such a nice guy. Lambert is used to dealing with parents "who can sometimes be a bit pushy"; Bashir 'just lets him do his thing'.
In the summer of 2022, in addition to playing for Guildford, Bashir played approximately 40 days of cricket for Berkshire, playing for the U18s and the second team. He also had a brief spell with Middlesex U18s, who opted not to sign him.
Shortly before Berkshire U18s played in the semi-finals of the National County T20 Cup, the competition for the national counties, which are below first-class level, Bashir was offered a trial with Somerset. They were the third province to see him; possibly his last chance to build a professional career.
Knowing Bashir had a dislocated finger, Lambert told Bashir he understood if he wanted to rest. Bashir said: "No, it's a finals day, I'm playing for Berkshire. We will worry about Somerset when the time comes." According to Lambert, "it shows how humble he is - he never looked down his nose at us." Bashir took four wickets in the semi-final and then, between his trial matches in Somerset, a further four as Berkshire won the final.
"He wanted a shop window," Lambert reflects. "He wanted to be able to play a volume of cricket and we were able to offer that to him. He could bowl 20, 30 overs a day. What the national provinces can offer you is an enormous amount of surpluses.'
And so the frustration over Bashir's release by his home country was the catalyst for his astonishing rise. "If Surrey had kept him involved I don't think he would be playing for England," Townsend said. "He probably wouldn't have had the exposure.
'The system didn't help him. But it has helped him because he has found a way to bounce around the national provinces to get a second team match that finally gets a platform."
Within the space of 18 months, Bashir's story links the England Test team to both the grassroots club and national county scene; he remains active in both Guildford and Berkshire WhatsApp groups. It is a reminder of an eternal truth: how the English national side is supported by the pyramid below.
Yet it is also a very modern story. Ben Stokes was first made aware of Bashir's talents on social media; When he saw a clip of him bowling to Sir Alastair Cook (see below), the captain shared it with Rob Key and Brendon McCullum, England's general manager and head coach.
19-year-old off-spinner Shoaib Bashir looked very confident on his first-class debut
He bowled beautifully for Sir Alastair Cook: here are all 25 balls from their morning match#LVCountyChamp pic.twitter.com/WWvkg5iLOn
- County Championship (@CountyChamp) June 11, 2023
Like Lambert in Berkshire, England were captivated by Bashir's high release point, drive and control, combined with his ability to vary his pace without any discernible change in his action. All this counted for more than Bashir's 10 championship wickets at 67 last summer.
These statistics did not clearly translate into a player with Test ability. But Bashir's raw attributes and the character he forged for Guildford, Berkshire and then Somerset gave reason to believe otherwise.