Yorkshire Scene

Jason Gillespie has hailed Adil Rashid’s influence on Yorkshire’s LV= County Championship team after his impressive display with the ball in the draw against Durham last week.

Rashid’s leg-spin accounted for four wickets in a match which Yorkshire dominated without being able to drive home their advantage.

He took 3-73 from 23 overs in the first innings and 1-22 off 14 in the second, bowling with good control and getting appreciable spin on a surface mostly suited for the batsmen, highlighted by four hundreds being scored in the match.

The 26-year-old Bradfordian has already excelled with the bat this season, including scoring a hundred in the opening round against Somerset at Taunton and 68 against Durham. But this was his best performance as a bowler.

“He’s been bowling well, it’s just that this season he hasn’t had the opportunity to bowl too many overs,” said coach Gillespie.

“He had a chance to bowl good, long spells there and he just got better and better as the game wore on.

“We play four seamers with support from Rash and we feel that because of that we’ve got all bases covered in all conditions.

“Late in games, Rash knows that he will come into his own and will be backed up by the seamers. Early in games, when there’s pace, bounce and a bit of nibble in the wicket, he takes more of a support role for the quicks.

“That’s why I think we’ve got a very good, balanced attack.”

Added to his 29 Championship wickets last year, Rashid scored 825 runs. Ahead of the ongoing Warwickshire match, Yorkshire’s fifth of the campaign, he had taken six wickets and scored 266 runs.