Bashir made an outstanding start to his Test career. In India, he bowled beautifully on debut at Visakhapatnam, and ended the tour with five-wicket hauls in Ranchi and Dharamshala. Another five-for, this one match-winning, followed in his second home Test, against West Indies at Trent Bridge, hardly a spinners’ paradise. England’s decision to back Bashir over his county colleague Jack Leach, which was in part an investment for the future, looked smart. They liked not just his skill, but his unflappable character, as he appeared unfazed by having to go on loan to Worcestershire to get a game in the Championship and going unused in James Anderson’s final Test at Lord’s. Stokes tipped him to play 120 Tests.

Halfway through their second Test in Pakistan, though, the picture had become altogether less clear. Bashir had a quiet second half of the summer. From August onwards, he played three Tests against Sri Lanka – picking up six wickets – but just one List A and one first-class match for Somerset. That amounted to 16 days’ cricket and just 112 overs. Young spinners need to bowl, and Bashir was not. When he did, against Hampshire, he was out-bowled by Leach, who finished the county season brilliantly, and appeared even to become frustrated, which is out of character. The young Somerset off-spinner being spoken about in glowing terms was Archie Vaughan, Bashir’s house-mate in Taunton.

It was no surprise, then, that Leach looked in far better rhythm across the first three innings in Pakistan, the first time they had bowled together in Tests. Bashir might have been the first-choice spinner but Leach had bowled in Pakistan before, arrived in form, and had experiences of winning Tests across Asia. Leach took 11 wickets in three innings, Bashir two. Bashir appeared to be retreating within himself, bowling a tight off-stump line to right-handers, rather than a wider, more attacking line.