Dream debuts McCullum and Stokes make first England cap a magical moment

A tilt of the head towards the sky with both eyes closed. That's how it ends, or rather, that's how it begins. Shoaib Bashir became England men's Test cap No 713 last week in Visakhapatnam and as is now customary he was presented with his dark-blue headpiece in a short but meaningful pre-match huddle on the outfield. The man to lead this one was Bashir's Somerset teammate, Jack Leach.

- James Wallace

"Trust me when I say, you wouldn't be here if you didn't fully deserve this... we can't wait to watch you play... don't forget to smile out there, that's all the team needs from you and the rest will follow." Bashir was clearly moved by the words from his fellow spinner, (one whose injury had opened up a spot in the starting XI) his long fingers visibly shaking while wiping away a sniffle as Leach spoke, choking back a few emotions himself as he mentioned Bashir's journey and the sacrifices he and his family had made to get to this point. There were no side jokes about visa issues to detract from the emotion; it was a touching moment, one Bashir will probably never forget.

The hugs and hand slaps afterwards were full of genuine warmth, the good vibes of the entire squad bouncing off each other like Teletubbies in a moshpit, the soft West Country burr and quietly rousing words from Leach left to ring around the ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium like an epic poem or understated war cry. All of which is to say, who wouldn't want to be a part of this England side right now? Often when you speak to England players of the past one of the first things they are keen to stress is they wouldn't swap their era for any other. "Keep your franchise riches and your smartphone scrutiny, we had it best in our day" type of thing. At points over the past decade it wasn't that hard to believe them. It would be now.