Adil Usman Rashid

Adil Usman Rashid was born on 17 February 1988 in Bradford, West Yorkshire. He is an English cricketer of Pakistani origin, who plays for Yorkshire. Previously a player with England Under-19s, in December 2008, he was called into the full England Test squad, for the Test matches to be played in India. He was then selected for the full tour of the West Indies.

Rashid is an all rounder, although as an English leg spin bowler (a rarity in modern first class cricket), it is his bowling that has attracted particular attention. He has already taken more than 100 first-class wickets and has received coaching from Terry Jenner as part of an ECB programme to encourage wrist-spinners.

Rashid is only the third Yorkshire-born Asian to play first-team cricket for Yorkshire, and the first of Pakistani origin. In 2006, ECB bowling coach David Parsons considered him the most talented young leg-spinner in the country.

Terry Jenner spotted him as a 14-year-old in early July 2005. At 17, he took 6–13 for Yorkshire's youth Academy team. A few days later he hit 111 for Yorkshire Cricket Board Under-17s against their Cheshire equivalents in the Under-17s County Championship.

In 2006, Rashid played a number of games for Yorkshire Second XI, making four successive centuries. This form, combined with a calf injury to Darren Lehmann, earned him the chance to make his first-class debut.

Rashid debuted against Warwickshire at North Marine Road, Scarborough, as a replacement for injured overseas batsman Darren Lehmann. Despite being picked as cover for a batsman it was his bowling which caught the eye as he took 6–67 in the second innings. Rashid was called up by England Under-19s for the first Test against India Under-19s at Canterbury; he made 13 and 23 and took one wicket.

In the second Test, at Taunton, he produced an excellent all-round display, scoring 114 and 48 and claiming 8–157 and 2–45. He also played in the third Test at the Denis Compton Oval in Shenley, but made less of an impression.

From mid-August until the end of the season, he held down a regular spot in the Yorkshire side and at Headingley scored 63 against Nottinghamshire and shared in a fourth-wicket stand of 130 with Craig White to dig Yorkshire out of a hole at 42/3.

That winter, he suffered from a stress fracture in his back. However, he recovered well enough to be picked for the 2006–07 England A tour of Bangladesh, though his statistics in one first-class and one List A match were modest. He started 2007 at Lord's, turning out for MCC against the 2006 champion county, Sussex.

Rashid's first County Championship game of the season, at The Oval against Surrey a few days later, saw him hit 86 in the first innings, putting on 190 with Jacques Rudolph for the sixth wicket. This established a new partnership record for that wicket for Yorkshire against Surrey, surpassing a mark that had stood since 1902. At the end of April, he took 5–88 against Durham at Headingley.

In June 2007 Rashid won both the YCCSA Young Player of the Year Award for 2006 and the Neil Lloyd Young Cricketer of the Year Award for 2006 and in July 2007 Rashid was called up to the England Lions side for a 4-day match against a touring Indian side. This would be a test for the young spinner as he had to bowl against the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, Wasim Jaffer, Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Sourav Ganguly.

Rashid spoke to Sky Sports about the chance to bowl at Tendulkar and said it had long been his dream to bowl out the 'little master'. He also stated "I'm not daunted. It will be quite a good challenge for me, bowling against the likes of Tendulkar". On 16 August he scored his maiden first class century, 108 against Worcestershire at Kidderminster.

On 9 September Rashid was named 2007 Cricket Writers' Club Young Cricketer of the Year, while on 24 September he was awarded the title of PCA Young Player of the Year.

In October 2007, Rashid was named in the "England Performance Programme squad", "to train at home and in India" during winter 2007–08. In April 2008, he retained his place in the squad, and then once more for winter 2008–09.

In the 2008 county season, Rashid took a career best 7–107 against Hampshire at the Rose Bowl. At the beginning of the summer, there was concern that Rashid's bowling was losing some of its variety as it seemed his batting was taking precedence, however his batting declined towards the end of the season and Rashid finished as Yorkshire's leading wicket-taker. He also finished as the country's leading spinner in terms of wickets taken. Rashid scored a career best 111 in the vital final game of the season against Sussex.

In December 2008, Rashid was called into the full England Test squad, for the Test matches to be played in India, followed, in December 2008, by a place in the squad to tour the West Indies. National selector Geoff Miller described Rashid's selection at the age of 20 in the following terms: Adil Rashid is an exciting prospect for the future and his inclusion will enable us to continue to monitor his development closely as well as providing extra competition for places in the spin-bowling department. Although he did not play any Tests on either tour, Rashid was part of the ODI and T20 squads to play the West Indies on the same tour.

Rashid was selected in England's squad for the 2009 ICC World Twenty20, and played in four of England's five games in the tournament. Rashid was not picked at all for the Ashes Tests, but he kept his hopes alive for forthcoming series after scoring his highest ever first-class score 117* and he later on helped Yorkshire to bowl Hampshire out with figures of 5–41. He then went on to better that still against Lancashire scoring an unbeaten 157 and taking 5/97 in the first innings.

This feat of scoring a century and taking a five-for in a match was the third of his career and the last player to have achieved the feat twice in a season for Yorkshire was back in 1911.

Rashid was called up to the England squad for the 2011 World Cup to replace Michael Yardy.