Adil Rashid: How the Yorkshire spinner helped England to the T20 title in Australia

The dust is still settling on England’s emphatic victory at the T20 Men’s World Cup in Australia. Many of the big names starred with the bat, but the bowlers shone throughout in what was a complete performance. One bowler in particular who was key in England’s win was Yorkshire’s own Adil Rashid.

Rashid has long been England’s frontline spin bowler in T20 cricket, and at this year’s tournament he showed exactly why this position has been his for all these years. He starred with the ball, picking up excellent figures of 2-22.

Both of his wickets came in a single over, and his double wicket maiden during which he dismissed Pakistan captain Babar Azam and number three batter Mohammed Haris. The spell turned the tide of the match firmly towards England and helped to restrict Pakistan to just 138-8 from their 20 overs.

Rashid could put his feet up in the second innings as England’s batters, following a slight wobble, got over the finish line with five wickets in hand thanks to a superb knock from Ben Stokes. The Bradford-born spinner was therefore fresh and ready to join in with the celebrations with the rest of what is a highly talented team.

Talking after the final, Rashid said that the victory is one that the side would “cherish” for the rest of their lives. He said: “Everyone was nervous, but as long as we had Stokes, Moeen and Liam Livingstone to come, we had the firepower to get us over the line.

“It feels good. I’m so proud of the boys. It shows from the position we were in earlier in the tournament how things can change, and we had the belief and we’ve gone all the way. We will cherish this moment for the rest of our lives.”

England’s white ball coach Matthew Mott was highly complementary of Rashid’s performances at the World Cup. All four of his wickets came in the business end of the tournament against Sri Lanka in the final group match, India in the semi-final and Pakistan in the final in Melbourne on Saturday.

“Rash has been exceptional,” said the Australian who has only been in the job since May 2022. “He’s just got better every game.

“His changes of pace tonight were amazing, and he just pulled it back at the right time. Rash can bowl any over in the innings, which is a great skill to have, and whenever we need a wicket he’s the bloke that we turn to a lot. Every time we do our match-ups, he’s high on every column.”