Bullish Rashid backs Tykes to prosper

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Adil Rashid underlined the optimism within Yorkshire’s camp after they completed their preparations for the Champions League T20 with victory over Sialkot Stallions.

Rashid returned 3-20 and chipped in with a brisk 22 as the White Rose, in action for the first time since their arrival in South Africa, prevailed by 23 runs.

Yorkshire now face qualifying matches against Uva Next and Trinidad & Tobago over the next two days as they aim to secure a place in the tournament proper.

Adil Rashid impressed with bat and ball as Yorkshire recorded a morale-boosting 23-run victory against Pakistan's Sialkot Stallions

“Winning the game (against the Stallions) gives us a lot more confidence as a team, and we actually won easily as well,” Rashid told ecb.co.uk.

“It shows that when we play well as a team, and everybody is behind each other, we’ll be a hard team to beat.

“Everybody is excited - if we nail our skills I think we can go a very long way.”

Rashid paid tribute to the contribution of skipper Andrew Gale, whose 55-ball 62 laid the platform for a total of 146 for seven.

“I thought Galey played exceptionally well,” added the leg-spinner. “Without his knock we wouldn’t have got 140-odd, we would have probably got 120. He batted through, and that 120 strike-rate was crucial for us.”

The other stand-out performer was Rashid himself.

“It was a pretty good day for me with bat and ball,” he acknowledged. “It was quite nice to get a few runs and good to get some bowling practice out there in the middle.

“It felt quite good, so hopefully I can carry that on and we can carry it on as a team.

“If we can get runs on the board ... with our bowling attack. I think if we nail our skills more often than not we will come out on top.”

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