England's Stuart Broad welcomes Adil Rashid's controversial Test recall

Andy Sims 14:34 27/07/2018
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  • Broad led the way with 23 wickets for England.

    Stuart Broad has welcomed Adil Rashid‘s controversial recall to the England Test squad.

    Leg-spinner Rashid has been selected in the 13-man squad to face India at Edgbaston next week despite his self-imposed exile from county cricket.

    Rashid currently only has a limited-overs contract with Yorkshire having turned his back on the longer form of the game.

    The 30-year-old has not played red-ball cricket all season but Broad feels he can still transfer his sparkling one-day form – Rashid took 20 wickets in the recent series wins against Australia and India – to the Test arena.

    “I’ve never bowled spin and never been out of red-ball cricket for an extended period of time,” said Broad.

    “One thing is for sure, though, he’s bowled beautifully in the one-day series.

    “I know it’s easy to say it’s a very different format with different strategies and all that sort of thing, but you can see he has got wicket-taking balls in him and he’s come through a couple of years of wonderful white-ball bowling which will give him a lot of confidence at the top level.”

    National selector Ed Smith made it clear that in order to be eligible for Test selection next year Rashid must return to the four-day game domestically.

    Rashid won the last of his 10 Test caps in Chennai more than 18 months ago, but he underlined his case for a recall by bowling India captain Virat Kohli with a memorable leg-break at Headingley last week.

    Nevertheless, the decision prompted an angry response from Rashid’s county Yorkshire, whose chief executive Mark Arthur said: “We’re very surprised that England have called Adil up after not playing red-ball cricket this season.

    adil rashid

    “Neither has he expressed a desire to do so. I hope that England know what they’re doing to Adil, and the county game.”

    Former England captain Michael Vaughan – an ex-team-mate of Rashid’s for Yorkshire – is also against the move and says it is a “stab in the back for county cricket.”

    Writing in the Telegraph, he added: “It basically says our county game, the finishing school for our cricketers, does not matter any more and that it is irrelevant.”

    Referring to the ongoing discussions about the proposed ‘Hundred’ competition, he said: “The ECB has to be careful. It is running out of friends.”

    Smith countered: “I believe strongly in the county game’s value. The other selections are strongly anchored in county cricket.

    “Jamie Porter has been the outstanding seam bowler for the last three seasons.”

    Essex seamer Porter won his first call-up for what will be England’s 1,000th Test match.

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