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Loading ...I’ve heard a little about this Adil chap, what sort of leggie is he?
Another season
By Will 2 years ago, mid-April Add your comment below
Hands up all those who are really very excited that the new season is here? Come on. I can still see a few lingering losers at the back. OK, so it’s only the curtain-raiser – MCC versus the champions, Sussex – but it’s the beginning of another monstrous season, and it signals the end of what has felt like an interminably arduous winter.
I say “only” the MCC, but tomorrow’s game has so much going for it. Sussex will doubtless be bounding out of the Long Room to defend their title, and MCC are comprised of a mixture of the tried and tested and the young and hopeful. Ed Joyce is captain and one of four with international experience – Ravi Bopara, Owais Shah and James Foster are the other three – but, most intriugingly of all, it’s the inclusion of a couple of young bucks which really tickles our interest.
We know all about Adil Rashid, a precociously talented legspinning allrounder; rather less is known about Steven Finn, the Middlesex fast bowler who towers above nearly everyone in the county game at 6ft 8in. I had a decent chat with him the other day – he’s a thoughtful, serious young cricketer and has a very clear idea of his path to the top. Have a read at Cricinfo tomorrow.
All to play for, then, if not in the immediate sense – this match is first-class but counts for little else – then certainly for the future. Charge your Thermos flasks and head to Lord’s.
Tags: adil-rashid, county-cricket, MCC, steven finn, sussex, thermos |
3 Responses to “Another season”
April 10th, 2008 at 2.37 pm
April 11th, 2008 at 11.45 am
Rashid bowls with quite a high arm so tends not to get as much side-spin as a Warne or McGill might, but he does genuinely spin the ball and gets plenty of dip in the air and bounce when it pitches. He also shocks a few batsmen with quite a fast yorker. His run-up and bowling action is a bit like a taller, thinner Mushtaq Ahmed.
He debuted for Yorkshire aged 18 half-way through the 2006 season and had a lot of success. 2007 started the same way, despite having to change his bowling action over the winter after a back strain, but as the weather got wetter and pitches less responsive he also seemed to tire in the second half of the season. His length got a bit too short and he also seemed to be less confident with his googly. Hopefully this won’t be a problem as he gets older.
His batting developed in 2007, scoring his first championship hundred plus half a dozen fifties. He seems to be able to play both attacking and defensive innings. His fielding is also excellent, mainly at point or gully.
April 11th, 2008 at 1.34 pm
Thanks John.
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