This season, though, he has been short of runs and wickets. Going into Yorkshire's recent four-day match against Kent, he was averaging in the teens with the bat and in the late 50s with the ball. Not the other way round.

Those widespread calls for him to be fast-tracked into the England Test team were looking even more misguided than they seemed when he was ripping through county line-ups in the Spring of 2007.

Despite his lean patch in both disciplines, though, there was little doubting Rashid's talent. He has been both threatening and economical with the ball in one-day cricket, and a return to form in the Championship always looked imminent.

Match figures of 7-86 at Canterbury were his best for 14 months. His woes with the bat continued, however, with scores of nought and four, followed by another duck at Chelmsford in the Pro40.

On Sunday, finally, his batting delivered. His 33 not out may not sound a lot, but it was crucial.

It was his highest score in 16 innings in all competitions and he believes it can transform his fortunes.

"It has been a difficult period," acknowledged Rashid. "I haven't had the best start and, hopefully, this will set the rest of the season up for me.

"I feel good in the nets but I haven't got a start. I think if I do get a start, I'll be okay."

His 70 at Durham in May against the best pace attack in the division was proof of his class, but recently, he has looked nervous. At Kent, he hung around prodding uncertainly in the first innings, and went to the other extreme in the second, perishing to an inappropriately extravagant drive.

He said: "At Kent, I was trying to set myself to play a big innings – I was leaving a lot and the bad thing about that is that you might get a good ball. I'll take a lot from the innings against Surrey. It will boost my confidence for the remainder of the season."

His bowling confidence has already returned. At Canterbury, he bowled with patience, control and loop, although there were still too many short balls.

He said: "I changed my action – well not changed it, tweaked it a bit. I felt good, everything just clicked. Once I do get that loop, it's harder for the batsman to play."

Rashid, an England A international, tries not to be downhearted by his figures nor swelled by calls for England honours, and he appears level-headed. He burst onto the scene in the second half of the 2006 season, taking wickets at a remarkable rate, and first-class cricket must have seemed a doddle to him then.

However, he says he was always aware that tougher times were ahead.

"I knew that wouldn't happen throughout my whole career. Sometimes you get wickets often, sometimes you don't get any for two or three games. That's part of the game.

"I don't really worry when I look at the averages. I'm still quite young – I'm only 20. So, hopefully, if everything goes well, I'll have another 18-19 seasons. I'm still learning."

He is. Leg-spinners rarely arrive fully formed. Shane Warne's figures in his first three seasons of first-class cricket were mediocre. Rashid's bowling will improve as he masters cricket's most difficult art.

He knows he has some way to go before he reaches international standard, and he is not seduced by media attention.

"I try to ignore it," he said. "But sometimes it does come into my head. At the moment, I'm not thinking about playing for England, just concentrating on Yorkshire and playing my game."