After England had gone 3-0 at the Adelaide Oval, Test Match Special’s Henry Moeran captured an image of a figure decked in England training kit, rather forlornly walking out to the spin-friendly deck, taking a picture on his phone, turning and walking back to the pavilion.

Shoaib Bashir has been the latest pinata for the English public to bash around, as people constantly complain about the 22-year-old spinner, who was the youngest England test bowler to get to 50 wickets.

Since 2000, apart from Graham Swann, England have not had a world-class red ball spinner, with the incredibly talented Adil Rashid and Moeen Ali both impressing across formats, but neither were ever considered England’s lead spinner for a prolonged period of time in the longer form of the game.

Bashir was thrust into the test arena at the age of 20 after only taking 10 first-class wickets for Somerset, but he did bowl an impressive spell against Alastair Cook. The off-spinner also impressed in spells when called upon in the sub-continent, taking 17 wickets, including two five-wicket hauls, across the three tests he played in India.

One of the main attacks on Bashir has been his poor performances in County Cricket, where he has struggled, averaging around 50 with the ball and struggling to get any consistent game time, whether it be at Worcestershire, Glamorgan or his contracted county, Somerset.

Bashir is not the only England player to struggle in County cricket, but he has been picked for England however, with opening bat Zak Crawley averaging just 32 in domestic cricket, yet he too is given chance after chance.

Crawley, much like Bashir, was given chances, because of his talent and has had a solid if unspectacular Ashes Series. Bashir was seemingly being picked much like Crawley, regardless of form in preparation for this Ashes series, but has not been picked, instead being preferred to batting all-rounder Will Jacks.

Adelaide in particular seemed the ideal place to pick a spinner. But England instead opted to go for Jacks, with much maligned spin-bowling coach Jeetan Patel saying ‘we would have liked to have Graham Swann out here.’ Hardly a ringing endorsement of the youngster.

It must be remembered that Nathan Lyon made his debut in the baggy green at the age of 24, and Bashir is still two years younger than that and has still only played a handful of first-class matches.

His high release and ability to get over-spin make him a unique prospect, but any spinner in their early 20s would be struggling with the lack of certainty that surrounds him.

Up until just a month ago, Bashir’s professional career was uncertain, with no county seemingly interested in signing the spinner with his contract up in Taunton.

Furthermore, Somerset tweeting on December 18^th that their own Jack Leach was the ‘best specialist spinner in England’, while a young player they have had who is technically still under contract in an Ashes squad, is only going to further dent confidence.

It was reported recently that he was set to join Derbyshire in an opportunity to re-establish himself and build up some confidence with the ball again.

Bashir has been over-promoted, which is not the youngster’s fault. Ben Stokes and Brendan McCullum both thought that they could mold Bashir’s traits into a test standard spinner, and they still could due to his young age and the fact that he has performed at the top level. But by taking him on a tour and then not picking him when the pitches are conducive to spin are only doing him more harm than good.

He is a victim of a broken system that has repeatedly failed young spinners in this country. Not just Bashir, but players like Mason Crane, Dom Bess and Adam Riley, who all were at one point or another seen as the next big thing. Only then to be thrown out with little thought to them as players.

So What Now?

So what next for England’s spin department? Do they take what they would see as a step back in picking Jack Leach, who, for all his control, averaged 50 with the ball in Australia and has failed to nail down a spot in the side. Liam Dawson is another experienced option, but his dropped catch against India and lack of threat seemed to be a death knell for the Hampshire all-rounder.

England could follow the example they took with Bashir and pick another young, talented spinner in county cricket. Farhan Ahmed, Jack Carson and Tazeem Ali are all examples of prodigiously talented spinners who the England staff could think that they could pick and develop, to become England’s number one spinner. However, they will be wary and wise, I feel, to let these lads develop and learn in county cricket rather than chucking them in the fire straight away.

The final options are talented wrist-spinning all-rounder Rehan Ahmed or Middlesex left-arm spinner and former Pakistan international Zafar Gohar, who becomes eligible to play for England next year.

Gohar is very talented and is experienced bowling on a variety of pitches thanks to his time playing in Pakistan and all over the county circuit for Gloucestershire and Middlesex. At the age of 30, he is reaching the prime of his career and knows his game inside out, but it will not quiet the claims that England cannot develop their own spin talent.

Ahmed is a precocious talent who impressed with bat and ball for Leicestershire in Division 2 this year, but he may fall into similar issues that Moeen Ali had, being that it is not entirely clear where he fits in a batting line-up to make the most of his talents.

That is if England ever picks a specialist spinner ever again, or just keeps going with a batter who bowls a bit like Will Jacks, as they have done for the final 4 games, in this Ashes Series. Interesting times lie ahead for spinners in the country.