Cricket Stokes salutes 'courage' of Bashir after dramatic Lord's win

BEN Stokes praised Shoaib Bashir's bravery after England’s young spinner claimed the match-winning wicket in a thriller against India, despite suffering from a broken finger which rules him out of the remainder of the Test series.

- Rory DOLLARD

Bashir broke the little finger on his left hand while attempting a caught-and-bowled on day three of the third Rothesay Test and has already been booked in for surgery in the coming days.

But he showed serious fortitude to bat against the 90mph pace of Jasprit Bumrah on Sunday evening and played a brief but decisive role with the ball in an impossibly tense fifth-day finish.

With India creeping towards the finish line on 170-9 chasing 193 in the final session, he bowled last man Mohammed Siraj via a back-spinning ricochet off the face of the bat.

Having spent the majority of the last two days watching the game unfold with England’s coaching staff, it was a remarkable way for a captivating contest to conclude, securing a 22-run win and a 2-1 lead for the hosts.

“It was great that Bash was able to get that last wicket with everything he had to deal with this week,” said Stokes, who must find a new spinner for the last two Tests.