Mascarenhas lauds 'golden' Tahir

Skipper Dimitri Mascarenhas is certain Hampshire have struck gold by re-signing Pakistan leg-spinner Imran Tahir for two more seasons.

Tahir transformed a struggling side when he joined in July. His 44 LV County Championship Division One wickets in seven matches helped the south coast outfit climb from the relegation zone to challenge for the title.

The 29-year-old dictated that Durham would be crowned champions as he took eight wickets in Hampshire’s last match of the season, a 203-run victory over Nottinghamshire.

The result at Trent Bridge left Mascarenhas’ side third in the table, a far cry from the relegation place many had predicted they would occupy.

Mascarenhas said: “Everyone pretty much wrote us off at the start of the year saying we’ll be struggling to stay up, and for the first part they were right, but we’ve proved a lot of people wrong.

Imran Tahir bowls Darren Pattinson in the 203-run victory against Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge

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“I’m pretty proud of the lads, proud of the whole squad actually. We’ve had to do it and done it when it’s counted.”

Naturally, Mascarenhas reserved special praise for Tahir who Hampshire signed on the recommendation of Kent batsman Martin van Jaarsveld.

Van Jaarsveld, a team-mate of Tahir for South Africa province Nashua Titans, mentioned the spinner’s match-winning qualities to fellow South African Nic Pothas - Hampshire’s wicketkeeper.

Tahir immediately demonstrated these with 12 wickets against Lancashire on his championship debut, including a season-best 7-66 in the second innings.

He also claimed 12 scalps in seven NatWest Pro40 outings, helping the Hawks clinch second spot in Division One.

“He’s been gold. He’s been absolute gold for us. Without him we would be fighting to stay up,” Mascarenhas added.

“He’s given everyone a lift around us. When things were looking down he got 12 wickets in his first game so he’s just helped everyone, lifted everyone’s spirits and now the batters have started to get some runs as well. He’s sort of had that knock-on effect on everybody.”

Tahir’s career has already spanned more than a decade and taken him to play for more than 10 clubs - including Yorkshire, Middlesex and Shropshire in England.

Although he arrived with a journeyman’s reputation, his quality inspired Hampshire to four wins and three draws in the seven championship matches in which he played.

Tahir has made Dimitri Mascarenhas' job as captain much more straightforward

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“He’s a decent bowler, he might go for a few but he’ll get you a few wickets,” Mascarenhas enthused.

“That’s how you win games, you’ve got to get 20 wickets. That’s what we wanted and he came along and just did an unbelievable job for us and, like I said, he’s just lifted everybody up.”

Tahir’s outstanding start to his Hampshire career follows on neatly from the county’s previous leg-spinner, former captain Shane Warne.

Warne announced in March he would not return for another season at the Rose Bowl, a decision which led to Mascarenhas taking over the captaincy.

Hampshire initially struggled to fill Warne’s shoes - former New Zealand paceman Shane Bond started the season as their overseas player - with fellow spinner Shaun Udal having left after the 2007 season.

Mascarenhas, however, is convinced Tahir can carry on Warne’s mantle as leading spinner over the next two years.

“When you lose someone like that, not just his bowling but his captaincy and everything he brings - not just to the team but to the club, is a massive loss.

“We knew it was going to be hard but the lads have really pulled together.”

“But it’s been really tough for the first half and Imran coming along and (being) similar, a leg-spinner and stuff like that, I sort of thought, yeah, he can do it as well and he’s been performing unbelievably well.

“I can’t speak highly enough, he’s been absolutely brilliant for us.”