Positivity pays off for Adil Rashid at Edgbaston

Yorkshire all-rounder Adil Rashid enjoyed his return to international cricket as England put in a record-breaking performance in winning the opening one-day international against New Zealand.
England's Adil Rashid celebrates taking the wicket of Luke Ronchi.England's Adil Rashid celebrates taking the wicket of Luke Ronchi.
England's Adil Rashid celebrates taking the wicket of Luke Ronchi.

First the 27-year-old blasted 69 with the bat to help push England to 408-9 at Edgbaston against a shell-shocked New Zealand.

And to make a mockery of the decision not to give the spinner a deserved chance at Test level over the last few months, Rashid followed up with four wickets as the tourists were skittled out for 198 to yield a 210-run victory.

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“I thought we played exceptionally well as a team,” he said. “I chipped in with a few runs so that gives you confidence with the ball.

“You go through ups and downs in cricket and that obviously affected my cricket in all forms.

“I was probably a bit immature in 2009 and I’ve changed my mindset and become a more positive cricketer.

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“I don’t think I could have asked for a better day, I hope I can carry it on.

“(Yetserday) was a special day for this young team we’ve got and hopefully now we can kick on to The Oval and repeat what we’ve done.”

Captain Eoin Morgan spoke of his excitement for the future after seeing his new-look England side put in a record-breaking performance.

It was an incredible turnaround from a hugely disappointing World Cup showing for England and, rather than regret what might have been previously, Morgan preferred to look ahead with optimism.

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He said: “You can look back and say what you want about the World Cup, myself I’m looking forward, and I’m really excited.

“(Yesterday) encouraged me even more to look further down the line and give guys more of a chance to grow as cricketers, because the more games we can get into our youngsters, the more performances they put in, and we win games along the way, holds a lot of weight come the next World Cup.”

Morgan admitted he did not expect the new England era to get off to such a flying start.

He said: “I’m as surprised as anybody, I certainly know how difficult it is coming into international cricket as a youngster but given that we’ve two or three new faces in our playing XI I think the way they held themselves brilliantly.

“This is an amazing performance but the closer we can get to that every game, the better we become.”

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