England’s idiosyncrasy against wrist spinners has a tradition. “You can’t bowl that funny stuff here. It’s not businesslike,” greeted Johnny Wardle, arguably the best slow left-arm bowler England have produced since the World War II, when he returned from South Africa in 1956-57 where he took 26 wickets from four matches with wrist spin.The mindset began to change after Shane Warne bowled Mike Gatting with the “ball of the 20th century.” And since then there has been a growing acceptance for wrist spinners. So it was a refreshing sight to watch leggie Adil Usman Rashid disturbing the furniture of Mohammed Kaif around his legs in the Duleep Trophy match between England Lions and Central Zone here at the Motibaug ground. The ball may not resemble the one that surprised Gatting, but it was the sign of an emerging spinner. Kaif at the end of the day’s play went to the bowler to congratulate him for the delivery.And back home, comparisons with Warne have already started with Adil’s impressive show for Yorkshire. “Warne is my role model, apart from Sachin Tendulkar. If I get to play for England, I may become England’s Warne,” said the 19-year-old.The comparisons sparked off an urgency in the Aussie legend to meet his ‘successor’. And they met when Hampshire played Yorkshire in May 2007. And Warne was impressed. “I liked what I saw. He possesses all the little tricks and toys a good wrist spinner needs — a wrong ‘un, a top-spinner and a slider — and he can bat as well as field pretty well,” Warne wrote then about his ‘heir apparent’.Adil was also lucky to get an opportunity to interact with his role model. “It was a good experience. He gave me certain tips, how to bowl to a particular field is one of them,” said Adil, who is being coached by Terry Jenner, the man who also coached the Australian.England Lions bowling coach David Parsons, too, is impressed with the leggie. “He is a very promising talent. People talk of him for the future. I would say he is for present, though he needs to play a couple of more first-class matches,” said Parsons, who is also ECB’s spin-bowling coach.Adil’s emergence has more significance than just busting the typical mindset. He is the first Yorkshire-born Asian to play for the club known for ‘racist past.’“The emergence of Yorkshire’s Asian-born spinner Adil Rashid is a huge step towards ridding the county of its racist tag,” wrote cricket writer David Hopps, also the author of Free as a Bird— Biography of Dickie Bird.Even Shahid Malik, one of Britain’s first Muslim MPs, once stated: “Yorkshire have been bedevilled by a tag of racism, but Adil Rashid’s selection and performance will put that to rest.” Adil himself is happy. “I am proud to be the first Yorkshire-born Asian to play for the club. It is a fantastic achievement,” said Adil.For Adil, who won the Cricket Writers’ Club 2007 Young Cricketer of the Year title, the leap from Yorkshire and England Lions to the national team may not far off. “If I am selected, I am ready for it. When England tour the subcontinent, the selectors may go for two spinners,” said Adil.Kaif has already got the dose of Adil’s guile, now it may be the turn of other Indian batsmen.
