County Stars Bashir, Topley Stage Comebacks, Smeed Debuts
Shoaib Bashir's grabbed his first four-wicket haul. Proper milestone stuff in county cricket. Topley's back after four years out, bowling like he never left. Then there's Smeed, chucking down his surprise red-ball overs. And over in New Zealand, Lister's named for the Bangladesh ODIs.
Shoaib Bashir snared his best County haul yet—4-76 for Derbyshire up at Old Trafford against Lancashire. Second game in, and the England spinner crashes through, ripping out top-order bats to shatter that stubborn 146-run partnership.
Will Smeed. Somerset's T20 gun finally straps on the pads for County Championship red-ball duty, subbing in for the crocked Tom Kohler-Cadmore. He'd walked away from first-class cricket at 21 back in 2022, only to U-turn and dust 'em off now.
Reece Topley broke a four-year County drought, storming in for Surrey against Leics at The Oval on April 10. Back stress fractures and the rest had sidelined the left-arm express for far too long. Ben Lister's back too, slotting into New Zealand's squad after two years on the outer—replacing busted Kristian Clarke for the Bangladesh white-ball gigs kicking off April 17.
Bashir's pushing hard for England Test spin duties. Topley and Smeed? They're just getting their careers firing again. Domestic and international cricket's got that extra edge now.
CricHubb Take
Shoaib Bashir's breakout innings. Rehan Ahmed's too. And down in Australia, Reece Topley digging deep through that back strain—proper grit. All of it shows how sticking at it pays off amid the slog of county slogs and those brutal international comebacks.