England v Zimbabwe: Shoaib Bashir puts doubts over his place “to bed”

In the aftermath in Nottingham, Stokes praised Bashir for speaking about wanting to remain patient on the field during the win.

“That is something he’s definitely got a lot better at,” Stokes said.

“The big progression with him has been building towards a dismissal and not getting too giddy – that was the word he used out there.

“He’s always in the battle. He loves it when guys come after him, because he then feels like he’s got to think a little bit more.”

There were also small technical tweaks against Zimbabwe, too.

He moved around 5cm closer to the stumps when bowling over the wicket and 8cm closer when bowling round the wicket compared to previous home Tests.

As a result, the number of deliveries travelling down the leg side in this Test dropped from 32% to 17%.

This match was also the fullest he has bowled in any home Test – a key skill for an off-spinner in allowing them to drag a batter onto the front foot.

Previously he bowled 26% of his deliveries in the full region but that jumped to 41% against Zimbabwe.

“It’s scary to think about the start of his career considering what he had experience-wise before he made his Test debut,” Stokes added.

“It’s impossible for him not to get even better than what he is now.

“The guys that we’ve got working with him, with all the technical stuff with Jeets [England spin bowling coach Jeetan Patel].

“I know it’s an odd story to look at. I can understand why some people find it hard to believe.

“If he keeps putting in performances like he has done this week, and continues in the way his career has gone, hopefully one day it will properly make sense to everyone why we pick him.”