Bashir Called Up For England Duty

The off-break spinner has played in 21 test matches so far for England and has taken 71 wickets at an average of 39.42. The first test match of the series will take place at Headingley Stadium from August 19-23 while the second will be staged at Lord's Cricket Ground from August 27-31. It remains to be seen whether Bashir will be selected for the squad ahead of the third and final test match of the series at Edgbaston Stadium which will run from September 9-13.

As it stands, the 22 year-old could well miss Derbyshire's County Championship Division Two matches at home against Durham and Middlesex. So far in this season's red ball campaign for Derbyshire, Bashir has played seven matches and taken 16 wickets at an average of 37.93.

While Bashir's absence would obviously be a blow for Derbyshire, Mickey Arthur will still be confident that his side can adapt and continue their bid for promotion in the final series of matches for this year's County Championship Division Two campaign. At the time of writing, the East Midlands side occupy fifth position in the table but are only 18 points behind second-placed Kent with six matches remaining.

Meanwhile, Derbyshire's Muhammad Abbas could feature for Pakistan ahead of their upcoming tour of England. The 36 year-old seamer played for the Shaheens in the opening game of their recent two-match test series away at the West Indies. Despite losing that opening game by 90 runs, Abbas claimed overall match figures of 8-85 with the ball.