Friday, July 13, 2007

Rashid set for India examination

England Lions v India, Three-day match, Chelmsford
Match starts Friday 1100 BST

Adil Rashid
Rashid was born in Bradford to Pakistani parents
Adil Rashid is looking forward to testing himself against some top-class batsmen when he lines up for England Lions against India at Chelmsford.

The teenage leg-spinner, who has made a huge impression at Yorkshire, is full of confidence after a five-wicket haul in his last match against Lancashire.

"I'm not daunted. It will be quite a good challenge for me, bowling against the likes of Sachin Tendulkar" he said.

"It's always been my dream to bowl to Tendulkar, and I hope to get him out."

The 19-year-old's 5-114 in the Roses match at Old Trafford ended a barren run of 80 overs and almost two months without a County Championship wicket.

"Last few games I didn't really perform. I was put under pressure - but I thought if I got it in the right area wickets would come," he said.

"I'd been bowling quite well but not with all that much luck."

What I like about him is his aggression as a cricketer in all three disciplines, it is quite rare."
Peter Moores
Rashid has already toured with England A in Bangladesh, under the tutelage of new England coach Peter Moores, but has not yet completed a full county season.

He does not, however, expect to feel too nervous against the tourists.

"I don't think it will be that difficult, because I know most of the [Lions] lads already," he said.

"I thought it would maybe take some time to develop, probably have a full season of first-class cricket and see how I go.

"You have to be careful not to try to take a wicket every ball, be patient and keep bowling your areas."

For India the match is a last chance to test themselves in English conditions before the first Test at Lord's which starts on 19 July.

The Lions side is led by Andrew Strauss and the hometown star Ravi Bopara will bat in the top order.

Essex are expecting a bumper day at the turnstiles, charging £20 for tickets, and £10 for juniors.

But with the match scheduled for just three days, it will help if the wicket is not as flat as the one on which both Essex and Nottimghamshire recently scored more than 700 runs in their first innings.


England Lions: Andrew Strauss (captain, Middlesex), Tim Ambrose (wicket-keeper, Warwickshire), Ravi Bopara (Essex), Tim Bresnan (Yorkshire), Stuart Broad (Leicestershire), Joe Denly (Kent), Graham Onions (Durham), Adil Rashid (Yorkshire), Owais Shah (Middlesex), Chris Tremlett (Hampshire), Jonathan Trott (Warwickshire).

India (from): KD Karthik, W Jaffer, R Dravid (capt.), Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Mahendra Dhoni, Zaheer Khan, Anil Kumble, Ramesh Powar, RP Singh, Rohit Sharma, Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh, Ranadeb Bose, Shanthakumaran Sreesanth, VVS Laxman.

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