Saturday 17th January 2009
I was invited to an evening dinner, at Bradford University, to celebrate the achievement of Adil Rashid, being selected for England's tour to the West Indies.
I got to speak to him, as well as, Yorkshire CC captain, Anthony McGrath.
Vikram Solanki, Kabir Ali, Usmaan Afzal and Sajid Mahmood. Just a few of the players that have failed to establish themselves in the England cricket set-up.
Now another player of Asian descent has been selected by the ECB for the upcoming tour of the West Indies.
20-year-old Adil Rashid, of Yorkshire, is the latest player to have a go at international cricket, at a time when the game is in disarray. The Moores-Pietersen debacle has lead to a change in the captaincy and divisions in the squad.
Andrew Strauss has been appointed as the new captain, yet Kevin Pietersen is still part of the squad. It remains to be seen how they cope with the fiasco that has occurred, and what impact it will have on Rashid’s debut tour.
Despite having an admirable domestic record, with both bat and ball, the pressure will be on the youngster to transfer his form to the global stage, and test himself against the best players.
“I’m just looking to knuckle down and play cricket, and not be worried about the expectations that are on me, whether it be from the county, the supporters or media,” said Rashid.
Although still a young man, he has set himself the highest of standards with Sachin Tendulkar and Shane Warne being his heroes.
Coming into the team as an all-rounder, he is looking to establish himself as someone who is able to take wickets, as well as, making contributions with the bat.
The Bradfordian said, “It just depends on the day whether I am in the mood for batting, bowling or even both. I have to wait and see how I feel on the morning of the match.”
Anthony McGrath, the new Yorkshire captain, having taken over from the retired Darren Gough, has seen Rashid’s performance since his debut against Warwickshire, when he took 6/67.
Ever since the showing in his first match, McGrath knew that Rashid was a special talent and being picked for England is just the beginning of things to come.
“His selection by the ECB can be fully justified, by his consistent performance for us (Yorkshire). In my opinion, he is the best leg-spinner in the country, an art which is very difficult to perfect and on top of that, he is a tremendous batsman as well.”
On a personal note for McGrath, it is his second stint as captain of Yorkshire and he is confident that they can have some success, in at least one of the four trophies that they are competing in next season.
“We’ve got a good bunch of lads and one of the youngest squads for quite a long time, and if we get off to a good start next season then we should be able to win something.”
With praise being given to Rashid from a former school teacher, and also Stewart Regan, Chief Executive of Yorkshire CC, he will be looking to make his mark on international, starting with a trip to the Caribbean.
Shamoon Hafez
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