Exclusive: Shoaib Bashir Told Game Time Is Key After Derbyshire Switch

England off-spinner Shoaib Bashir is hungry for game time. 

There was no berth for him in the playing XI in the five-match Ashes series in Australia, which the tourists lost 1-4. To revive form and confidence, the 22-year-old has joined Derbyshire on a two-year deal and ended his association with Somerset.

The struggle for chances started in Somerset, as he was always behind spin mainstay Jack Leach. The emergence of Archie Vaughan, a spin-bowling all-rounder and son of former England captain Michael Vaughan, further blocked his route. He played three first-class seasons at Taunton with 21 scalps in 23 appearances across all formats.

BOWL 20-30-40 OVERS TO SHINE

Although Derbyshire competes in the Second Division of the County Cricket Championship, Bashir could use the platform to stage a comeback to red-ball cricket, as he has not played any form of competitive cricket since the Lord's Test against India in July 2025. 

"It doesn’t matter where you play as long as you play, and you get some bowling. Even the pitch doesn’t matter. He should be looking to bowl 30 to 40 overs a game," former Leicestershire off-spinner Carl Crowe, who is currently a renowned spin-bowling coach in franchise leagues, told SportsBoom.co.uk. 

"For whatever reason, whether it was tactical or he probably wasn’t bowling well, who knows, we don’t know what happens in the changing room, but he didn’t get to play when we expected him to play, so he is probably down on confidence," added Crowe, who has coached spinners such as Sunil Narine and Kuldeep Yadav in the Indian Premier League.

COMPETITION, CONDITIONS AND LEARNING

Derbyshire is known for traditionally being seam-heavy, but now they have a chance to strengthen the spin department.

Crowe highlighted the presence of left-arm spinner Jack Morley, who played for Derbyshire last year, and finished with 27 wickets. 

"Morley is a good left-arm spinner in Derbyshire who is also rated very highly. I suppose there is no guarantee that Bashir will play every game. Morley is a high-potential spinner, and now Derbyshire has one more in Bashir. Maybe they can prepare spinning pitches and play both of them," said the former spinner with 93 wickets across first-class and List A matches in the United Kingdom.

The Leicestershire veteran believes that every spinner should have a strong foundation in red-ball cricket to excel in all formats.

"All top-level spin bowlers have bowled lots of overs in their formative years. The foundation of an elite-level white-ball bowler comes from a red-ball base. Bashir needs lots of bowling, game time, where the captain assures him of 20 overs."

"You can continue to learn from the game or your action, and pick up wickets. A player has to enjoy himself, bowl lots of overs, and see where that takes you. The vast majority of T20 bowlers have a red-ball base. You need to know your best ball and your action very well before you deliver. At the elite level, the skillsets of an IPL bowler and a red-ball bowler are different," he reasoned.

For example, Crowe spoke about Simon Harmer's performance for Durban's Supergiants in the SA20 competition. The Proteas off-spinner maintained a tight economy of 6.11 in six matches and picked up four wickets. 

"Look at Simon Harmer for Supergiants. He was outstanding. He has 1,000 wickets in first-class matches. He has a lot of mystery. There is still a place for you in T20 if you master your art and craft. Who knows where Bashir can go eventually? He has the characteristics of a high-quality bowler as he has picked up wickets (68 in 19 Tests)," he signed off.

Additionally, England youngster Jacob Bethell has already underlined his promise after scoring 205 Ashes runs from 339 deliveries, impressing with his composure and back foot play. Shaped by his cricketing upbringing in Barbados and the UK, the all-rounder is viewed as a multi-format prospect, though former coach Corey Edwards has urged careful workload management.