Shoaib Bashir credits Moeen Ali After match winning ball in Lord’s Test win over India

LONDON: England’s young off-spinner Shoaib Bashir said on Tuesday that his dismissal of India’s Mohammed Siraj at Lord’s was a moment he would cherish for life.

Speaking to an interview to British media, Bashir credited former England all-rounder Moeen Ali for inspiring him to trust and bowl the carrom ball. 

“I met Moeen Ali for the first time at Edgbaston and we spoke a lot. Mo encouraged me to bowl the carrom ball. He’s someone I’ve always looked up to and for him to say, ‘Back yourself to do it,’ meant a lot,” Bashir said.

“I bowled it a few times and it came out nicely. I got Siraj out with it, with a really slow ball, only about 43 to 44mph. Since Edgbaston, I’ve been in touch with Mo a fair few times. He’s a legend and someone I look up to massively, especially being an off-spinner in England, which is not an easy job.”

Bashir insisted on returning to the field when England were struggling for a breakthrough late in the final innings.

“We were creating chances but just couldn’t get that wicket. I really wanted to get out there. Stokesy knew and gave me the go ahead when I was on the bench. My left hand felt pretty good when I was bowling. I’m just glad I could make a difference,” he recalled.

Bashir described Root’s fielding support and his own spin effort led to Siraj’s dismissal.

“We got Joe Root to come into silly point to put pressure on Siraj, and I just tried to put as many revs on the ball as I could. Luckily it popped from a length, hit his bat, and went down into the ground. 

He recalled the joy of sealing the win at Lord’s in front of a packed crowd as an unforgettable moment.

"From my angle I couldn’t really see the bail come off; my reaction was based on everyone else’s. That feeling will stay with me forever, at the home of cricket, in front of a packed crowd. It doesn’t get better.”

Bashir also made a small but vital contribution with the bat, adding two runs in a seven run stand with Jofra Archer while enduring pain and facing India’s pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah.

“It (the injury) happened, I came off the field and went for a scan. I knew it was pretty bad, but I had plenty of painkillers. My first ball from Bumrah was a bouncer and the next was a yorker.

"The vibrations went right up my hands. But I was always going to bat, even if it was only to add five or ten runs. In the grand scheme of things, they might matter,” Bashir concluded.