Birmingham: England leg-spinner Adil Rashid said his skipper Eoin Morgan never lost faith in his abilities despite a modest performance in the league phase of the World Cup.
Before the semi-final, Rashid had taken just eight wickets for 54 run in the 50-over showpiece. However, Morgan never stopped believing in him and the spinner repaid the faith with a crucial three-wicket haul against Australia that helped England make the final.
“He always has the faith in me from day one till now,” Rashid was quoted as saying by the ICC website.
“There are going to be games where you don’t go well, that’s part and parcel of cricket but he always has the confidence that I can do a job. He’s 100 per cent the best captain I’ve ever played under. He knows my game now inside out,” he added.
Rashid has become one of England’s mainstays in the last four years that saw the team climb to the top of the One-day International rankings and to a place in the final of the mega-event first time after 27 years.
“I’ve been with him for four years, through good times and not so good times. He knows my strengths and what I’m capable of. We have that trust as well. If he senses something, we’ll go by it. We’re easy-going like that and I 100 per cent trust him in all the decisions he makes,” said Rashid.
The 31-year-old, who has been struggling a bit with a shoulder injury throughout England’s run-up to the World Cup final, admitted that it has prevented him from consistently bowling googlies.
“I’ve had a bit of a shoulder problem, so I’ve not bowled the googlies as much. I know that it’s a big weapon for me. My shoulder has that little bit of problem and I knew I still had to bowl it, even if there was a bit of a pain,” he said.
“Before the shoulder I was confident bowling everything. Once you have a niggle it becomes a bit harder with the rotation – the arm gets a bit lower and you don’t find that snap,” he added.
Going into the final against New Zealand here Sunday, Rashid said he is looking to keep up the good work.
“It was nice to contribute and get a few wickets (against Australia in the semifinal), I reckon there’s been a few times I’ve bowled better but not got the rewards. That happens in cricket, sometimes you bowl well and don’t get wickets,” he said.
“I want to keep striving, keep looking to work hard and keeping looking to deliver my skills and be confident in that,” said Rashid.
PTI