Adil Rashid – The ‘bright spot’ of England bowling

Adil Rashid – The ‘bright spot’ of England bowling: The first of Pakistani origin, Yorkshire born Adil Rashid, is the third Asian to represent the county in first-team cricket.

Leg-spinner Rashid was coached by Terry Jerner as part of a programme of ECB for encouraging ‘wrist-spinners’. ECB bowling coach, David Parsons, considered Rashid as the country’s most talented leg spinner.

Spotted and trained by Jenner as a 14-year old, Rashid at 17, claimed 6/13 for the Yorkshire Academy Youth Team. In the U19 County Championship, he scored 111 runs for Yorkshire Cricket Board against Cheshire.

Adil Usman Rashid made his First Class debut against Warwickshire at North Marine Road Ground, Scarborough, on 19^th July, 2006. He came in place of the injured overseas player, Darren Lehman.

Having taken 1/8 from 1.2 overs in the first innings, he went on to pick up 6 wickets, giving away just 67 runs in 28 overs (6 maidens) in the second innings.

Though not much successful with the bat (10, 20b, 2X4), he returned with a match figure of 29.2-6-75-7. This outstanding performance of Rashid with the ball, coupled with great batting performance by Andrew Gale (149, 208b, 23*4, 1*6) and the wicket-keeper, Gerard Brophy (97, 146b, 11*4, 1*6), helped Yorkshire win the match by an innings and 96 runs.

Rashid was drafted into the England U19 squad to play the three-Test series against India U19.

In the first drawn Youth Test at Canterbury, he scored 13 and 23 in the two innings that he batted and took a solitary wicket giving away 85 runs in his spell of 22 overs.

The second Youth Test played at County Ground, Taunton, was very significant from this youngster’s point of view.

Winning the toss and electing to bat, England U19 piled up a mammoth total of 392 runs on the back of excellent batting performance by the opener and the skipper, Varun Chopra and Rashid.

After a 30-run fifth wicket partnership with Chopra (123, 206b, 20*4), Rashid had a 60-run sixth wicket partnership with Mark Nelson (31, 74b, 5*5) and a 102-run seventh-wicket partnership with the wicket-keeper, Greg Wood.

Having been at the crease for 254 minutes, facing 194 deliveries, Rashid scored 114 runs with 15 fours and 3 sixes. In the second innings he narrowly missed a half-century and notched up 48 runs.

Adil was also very successful with the ball. He claimed 8 wickets, giving away 157 runs in his spell of 43.5 overs (7 maidens). In the second innings he returned with a figure of 21-9-45-2.

The match, however, was drawn.

In the third Youth Test played at Denis Compton Oval, Shenley, Rashid was unsuccessful in claiming any wicket in the first innings but picked up 3 wickets in the second giving away 91 runs in 27.3 overs.

He could score only 15 and 12 runs in the two innings. India U19 went on to win the game by a huge margin of 249 runs.

June 2007 saw the young Rashid win the Yorkshire County Cricket Supporters’ Association (YCCSA) Award and the Neil Lloyd Young Cricketer of the Year Award for 2006.

In July 2007, Rashid was included in the England Lions squad to play a four-day game against the touring Indian side that comprised of stalwarts like Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, Wasim Jaffer, Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Saurav Ganguly. This was a very proud moment for Rashid having to bowl to these legends.

Speaking to Sky Sports on this opportunity, Rashid said, “I’m not daunted. It will be quite a good challenge for me, bowling against the likes of Tendulkar”.

The First Class match between Yorkshire and Worcestershire played between 14^th and 17^th August, 2007, at Chester Road North Ground, Kidderminster, saw Rashid score his maiden century.

Batting at No 7, Rashid and the skipper, Gerard Brophy (41, 87b, 6*4) first put up a 111 runs partnership for the sixth wicket. This enabled Yorkshire to pile up 319 runs in the first innings.

Staying at the wicket for 200 minutes and facing 152 deliveries, Rashid scored 108 runs with 17 hits to the fence. He followed up this with an unbeaten 73 runs in the second innings. However, all these came in a losing cause since Worcestershire won the match by 6 wickets.

Rashid was awarded the Cricket Writers’ Club Young Cricketer of the Year 2007 and PCA Young Player of the Year 2007.

The match against Sussex in September, 2008, played at County Ground, Hove,  saw young Rashid notch up 111 runs facing 205 deliveries with 7 fours, batting for 258 minutes in the first innings. His bowling also was very impressive as he picked up 2/41 and 7/136 in the two innings. His match figure stood at an impressive 58-5-177-9.

August 2009, saw Rashid bettered his previous best (111) by scoring 157* runs (240b, 12*4), playing against Lancashire at Headingley, Leeds. He also had a bowling figure of 58.2-12-152-6 in the match.

This feat of scoring a century and taking a ‘five-for’ in a match was the third of his career. Rashid had bettered the record of George Hirst who had done it on two occasions in 1911.

However, his career-best (thus far) came in the County Championship Division One game against Somerset played in May 2013 at Headingley Cricket Ground, Leeds. Going into bat at No 6, Rashid, along with Gary Ballance ((107, 197b, 13*4), put up a 207-run fifth-wicket partnership. He also followed it up with a 88-run sixth wicket partnership with wicket-keeper, Andy Hodd (27, 56b, 6*4).

The eighth-wicket partnership with Richard Pyrah (55, 54b, 8*4) realised 69 runs. After registering a ninth-wicket partnership of 55 runs for the 9^th wicket, Rashid got out after scoring 180 runs off 317 deliveries with 24 fours and one six. He was at the wicket for 424 minutes.

He also picked up 2 wickets, giving away 20 runs in 8 overs.

In December 2008, Rashid was selected to the full England Test squad, for the series against India. He was also selected to the squad to tour the West Indies.

National selector Geoff Miller, speaking to reporters on Rashid’s selection said, “Adil Rashid  is an exciting prospect for the future and his inclusion will enable us to continue to monitor his development closely as well as providing extra competition for places in the spin-bowling department.”

Although he did not play any Tests on either tour, Rashid was part of the ODI and T20 squads to play the West Indies on the same tour.

He was also part of the squad for T20I World Cup 2009 edition but could not make much of an impression.

Rashid was included in the ODI series against New Zealand in 2015.  In the first match, he became only the second English spinner after Graeme Hick to score a half-century (69, 50b, 7*2, 2*6) and take four wickets (10-0-55-4).

He also involved for the highest 7th wicket partnership of ODI history with wicket-keeper Jos Butler (129, 77b, 13*4, 5*6)  of 177 runs in 17.3.overs.

Rashid also played in the only T20 match and returned with the figure of 4-0-33-1 as England won the match by 56 runs.

He made his Test debut against Pakistan in October 2015 at the Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium, UAE. He scored 12 runs in the first innings but did not get to bat in the second.

Going wicket-less from 34 overs in the first innings, he returned with an impressive 5/64 in the second. He .registered his first ‘five-wicket’ haul in his maiden Test appearance.

Rashid had a match figure of 52.5-3-229-5. He is a long-term prospect for England and if nurtured well, could prove himself to be a great ‘leg-spinning all-rounder’ for the country.