Rashid travelling in hope to fill in for Yardy

Rashid, currently on tour with England Lions in the West Indies, is not due to land on the sub-continent until Saturday afternoon – midway through England’s World Cup quarter-final against Sri Lanka.

It means the 23-year-old could arrive just in time to accompany the England players on their flight back to the UK, with Sri Lanka hot favourites to win the game at the Premadasa Stadium.

Rashid, of course, will be adopting a more optimistic outlook as he eyes an unexpected return to England colours – 16 months after his last international appearance in a 50-overs match against South Africa.

The leg-spinning all-rounder had a splendid summer with Yorkshire last year, responding to the loss of his England place by taking 57 County Championship wickets at 31.29 to go with 732 runs at 45.75.

Rashid has captured 13 wickets in four first-class games on the Lions’ tour and has been preferred by England to Nottinghamshire all-rounder Samit Patel, whose fitness levels have been deemed unacceptable.

Yardy’s departure – announced to the squad via text message from England team manager Phil Neale – means four England players have now left the tournament.

Injury put paid to the participation of Kevin Pietersen, Stuart Broad and Yorkshire’s Ajmal Shahzad, but there was better news last night of Shahzad’s county colleague Tim Bresnan, who is expected to be fit for Saturday’s game after a scan on a troublesome calf injury.

Commenting on the decision to draft in Rashid, National Selector Geoff Miller said: “We have been closely monitoring Adil’s progress over the winter and he will have benefited from being part of the Lions’ tour in the Caribbean and his recent experience in Australia, where he played a key role in helping the Redbacks win the Big Bash T20 competition.

“His inclusion will provide us with a different option in our bowling attack and I am sure Adil will be delighted to be joining the squad at such a crucial juncture.”

News of Yardy’s illness, with its sad echoes of that suffered by former England star Marcus Trescothick, was announced yesterday by the England and Wales Cricket Board.

In a statement, Yardy said: “Leaving at this stage of a World Cup campaign was a very difficult decision to make, but I felt that it was the only sensible option for me and I wanted to be honest about the reason behind that decision.

“I would appreciate some privacy over the coming weeks while I spend time with family and close friends before what I hope will be a successful season for Sussex.”

Former Yorkshire and England opener Geoffrey Boycott, while sympathising with Yardy’s illness, reacted to news of the player’s departure by insisting he was not good enough to be at the World Cup in the first place.

“He must have been reading my comments about his bowling,” Boycott told BBC Radio Five Live, referring to criticisms of Yardy in his newspaper column.

“That must have upset him because it’s obviously too much for him at this level.

“If there’s any blame attached, it’s partly to the selectors who have done an excellent job on picking the Ashes side but, I’m sorry, he’s not good enough at this level.

“He doesn’t bowl for Sussex in their Championship matches, he bowls in the one day, but, at this level, sorry, bowling round-arm, into the legs, without any spin and without any flight, you’ve got to be so perfectly accurate.”

Boycott added he never had to worry about depression because he was “a better player”.

He made clear: “I’ve been, with respect, a better player. I’ve been able to hold my place in the team for Yorkshire and England, so I’ve always got picked, played pretty good, so I’ve not been in that position where my quality of play has been poor and it’s got to me mind-wise.

“The only time I was genuinely upset and down was the period in 1978 when I lost my mother. She died, and then Yorkshire sacked me two days later as captain and I hadn’t even buried her.

“Then I got picked to go to Australia and I played like a lemming. My mind was in a mess, but it wasn’t the same type of illness that this young man has got or Trescothick.

“Mine was not depression, I was just down. Mine was a different form, I’ve never been in that position, so he’s right to go home.”

The head of a leading mental health charity criticised Boycott’s comments about Yardy.

Dr Andrew McCulloch, chief executive of the Mental Health Foundation, last night said that Boycott’s assessment was likely to have a negative affect.

“People in the public eye speaking out about their experiences with depression can really help reduce the stigma around the condition and raise public awareness of the symptoms and different treatments available,” he said.

“However, this is reliant on the media commentators covering the issue in an informed and responsible way.

“Being dismissive of the condition or of any one person’s experiences with it can have the opposite effect, not only causing distress to the individual concerned, but also potentially fuelling discrimination and discouraging other people in need from seeking help, for fear that they too may be treated dismissively.”

Dr McCulloch also cautioned against speculation about the causes of Yardy’s depression.