"Regardless of who is batting in front of me, I know if I prepare well, produce my skills, have the right mind-set, I know I will succeed"
Wednesday 11 July 2018 12:16, UK
Adil Rashid says it's coming home (hopefully!), picks out his ideal penalty-takers from the England cricket team and looks ahead to the ODI series against India as they aim to bounce back from a 2-1 defeat in the T20s...
We know India are one of the best sides in the world in one-day cricket, but we are playing good cricket at the moment as well, so it's going to be a good test. An exciting series in store.
There's a lot of excitement around the England football team at the World Cup right now too and, ahead of the first ODI on Thursday, I'm sure the whole squad and backroom staff will get together to cheer the boys on in their semi-final on Wednesday night.
It's coming home. Well, hopefully. They have to get past Croatia first, and then a final against France won't be easy.
It's a massive game and something all the lads are looking forward to. But it has been a great tournament regardless - you'll have seen the celebrations in the dressing room from when we beat Colombia on penalties.
There has been some penalty-taking in our team warm-ups since. Taking the fifth penalty to win a World Cup final, I'd probably want Jos Buttler stepping up. David Willey's also pretty good. And I'll give a shout out too to my mate Moeen Ali.
Buttler continued his amazing form from the series against Australia into the T20s against India, while the likes of Jason Roy and Alex Hales also stepped up with the bat. We put up a good fight over the three-match series so it was obviously disappointing to come out on the losing side.
But we all know that India have that in their locker. They are one of the best T20 sides in the world - they have the best domestic competition in the world in the IPL, and the best players. The more we play against these big teams, like India, the better we will get as well.
The IPL is something I'd like to play in one day, but that's something for the future.
I thought the Indian batsmen picked me well during the T20 series - the googly or whatever variation - but I was still pleased with how I bowled in the series, and in the T20 against Australia at Edgbaston.
Regardless of who is batting in front of me, I know if I prepare well, produce my skills, have the right mind-set, I know I will succeed.
Hopefully we can learn from our mistakes and get the right result in the ODIs. We've got our game plans against them; it will be a good challenge for both teams.
It's great to have Ben Stokes back playing. We all know what a world-class player Stokesy is, with bat, ball and in the field. He has such a presence, and is a big, big player for us - he gives us that extra firepower going into the series.
We start at Trent Bridge on Thursday, a ground which has got great memories for us recently, hitting a world record score of 481 against Australia there last month.
I'm not so sure 500 will be on the cards this time round. The batsmen won't be complacent, they'll assess the situation, the pitch, the conditions, but I'm sure there will still be plenty more fours and sixes.
I'm also looking forward to heading home for the third ODI at Headingley. It's always nice to play at your home ground. Hopefully, by that time, we'll have won the series.
Watch Rashid in action in the first ODI between England and India, live on Sky Sports Cricket from 12pm on Thursday.
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