Adil Rashid '100 per cent' fit as he aims to help England into World Cup final
"I could easily be on 15 or 16 wickets. That's part and parcel of cricket but we're winning and through to the semis. We're in a good place"
Saturday 6 July 2019 13:12, UK
Adil Rashid insists he is 100 per cent fit as he aims to help England into their first World Cup final since 1992.
The leg-spinner suffered a shoulder injury before the tournament and has not been at his best throughout, with his eight wickets in nine games coming at an average of 54.12.
England will play either India or Australia at Edgbaston next Thursday after confirming a semi-final spot by beating New Zealand on Wednesday.
"Just before the World Cup I had an injection on the shoulder problem [but] it's all good now, I'm 100 per cent," said Rashid.
"There's been some games where I felt as though I've been a bit unlucky - there's been a few dropped catches and missed stumpings and whatever.
"If you take all that [into consideration] it could be completely different, I could easily be on 15 or 16 wickets. That's part and parcel of cricket but we're winning and we've got through to the semis, so we're in a good place."
Rashid has used his googly more sparingly during the World Cup but says he has been talking with England spin consultant Saqlain Mushtaq about how to rediscover top form.
"I'm trying to [bowl my googly] but sometimes it can be a bit difficult. That's not an excuse," added Rashid, whose best figures at the World Cup were the 3-66 he picked up against Afghanistan at Old Trafford.
"It's one of my strengths, my variations. For me, it's just getting back to bowling my variations.
"I've been picking Saqlain's brain about how to go about things: he's played international cricket at the highest level, he's been successful in ODI and Tests. Sometimes we talk about setting up batsmen or field placings."
Rashid has also rebuffed the notion that England struggle on pitches that are not suited to batsmen, insisting they will acclimatise to whatever Edgbaston surface they encounter in their semi-final.
"If it's a good pitch it brings out the best in our batting line-up," said the spinner. "We bat first, we get the big scores on the board and put pressure on the batsmen. That allows myself and all the bowlers to go out there and just enjoy bowling.
"If we have to bowl first on a flat pitch we know we've got to be switched on a bit more, work out our methods and work hard to get batsmen out.
"But whatever pitch comes along in the semi-final, whether it's a fresh one, a flat one or a bit of a slow turner we'll definitely adapt to that and hopefully we can win."
Watch England's World Cup semi-final live on Sky Sports Cricket World Cup (channel 404) from 9.30am on Thursday.
