Forget Broad: Rashid is Flintoff's successor
Will Luke
25-Feb-2013
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Shane Warne may have retired, but he will never stop championing the spinner's cause. Forget Stuart Broad as Flintoff's replacement: Adil Rashid, Yorkshire's prodigiously talented young legspinning allrounder, is just as likely to fill his boots, he writes in his Times column.
My alternative, though, is Adil Rashid. Yes, he’s a spin bowler rather than a seamer, but there is no reason why England can’t go with three pacemen and two spinners. That’s a balanced attack, to me. Rashid has scored hundreds and taken five wickets in an innings in his past two matches for Yorkshire. He’s a real all-rounder.
A seven-eight-nine of Rashid, Broad and Graeme Swann would be pretty effective in Test cricket. Perhaps in time Broad and Rashid would switch positions. At present, though, I would have them in that order. Rashid just looks ready to come into the fold and should be picked for the South Africa tour.
I spent some time with him a couple of years ago when Hampshire played Yorkshire. Michael Vaughan asked me to have a few words. Rashid seemed confident and knew what he was talking about. At the time he was only 19 or 20, but he had a good understanding of bowling. Most important, he liked to spin the ball
Over at The Guardian, England's 2005 coach, Duncan Fletcher, hopes that the hype surrounding Broad doesn't overwhelm him.
I just hope to goodness he is given room to breathe and develop. Some sections of the media in the UK like to build them up, then knock them down, but England need to realise they have a real talent on their hands and encourage him to make the most of it.
Geoff Boycott (Daily Telegraph), though, reminds everyone that despite England now holding the Ashes, they are far from the finished article. Their real test will lie in South Africa this winter, and a number of their middle-order need to up their game.
The return of Kevin Pietersen will give the middle-order a more imposing look, but the people around him are not convincing. Bell isn't the only man struggling against the short ball. Speaking on the radio, Phil Tufnell compared Paul Collingwood's dismissal on Friday night to himself batting at No 11. Collingwood may be alright in the comfort zone at No 5, where England have plenty of options now that Jonathan Trott has emerged as a potential star of the future. But you always need solid people at the top of the order. Ravi Bopara is a talented young player, but he has been found wanting up front as well.
Will Luke is assistant editor of ESPNcricinfo