Rashid revels in Yorkshire’s flying t20 start (From York Press)

Rashid revels in Yorkshire’s flying t20 start

11:01am Monday 8th October 2012 in Sport By Graham Hardcastle

ADIL RASHID believes Yorkshire will take great confidence from their “exceptional” Champions League t20 warm-up win over Sialkot Stallions in South Africa.

Rashid, 24, made the most of the Tykes’ comprehensive t20 win over the Pakistan side at the Wanderers in Johannesburg yesterday by with an entertaining 22 and three wickets.

The leg-spinning all-rounder staked his claim for a place in tomorrow’s opening qualifier against Uva Next at the same ground as Yorkshire posted 146-7 and then defended it to prevail by 23 runs.

He took the wickets of Haris Sohail and Ali Khan with successive deliveries in his last over – the 14th of the innings – to leave the Stallions at 82-5 having earlier removed Faisal Naveed. He finished with 3-20.

Steve Patterson also struck twice and Moin Ashraf once, while rookie wicketkeeper Dan Hodgson impressed with the gloves with two stumpings off Rashid.

Sialkot, who are in Hampshire’s qualifying pool, finished with 123-6 having been well placed at 64-1 in the tenth over.

“I thought we played exceptionally well as a team,” said Rashid, the only player in Yorkshire’s squad with previous CLt20 experience having played for South Australia in 2010.

“This was the first time we have played a match while we’ve been in South Africa. For us to post nearly 150 was a good effort.

“We’re just getting used to the conditions. I thought 146 was a par score. We would have liked a few more, but we’ll learn from that going into the next game. It was a tough wicket to bat on because we’re not used to that kind of pace and bounce.

“Winning gives us a lot more confidence as a team, and we actually won it quite convincingly. If we carry on like that, we’ll be a hard team to beat.”

After winning the toss, Andrew Gale anchored the White Rose’s innings with 62 off 56 balls, including six fours and a six. Adam Lyth also scored a pulsating 28 off 13 balls batting at number four.

Rashid hit former Yorkshire overseas player Rana Naved-ul-Hasan for a huge six over mid-wicket during his 16-ball stay at the crease as he looks to secure the number six spot in the team.

With their middle order weakened by the absence of Jonny Bairstow – and with David Miller’s availability only sporadic – Rashid’s runs could be crucial.

Both teams then agreed to play a Super Over Eliminator to gain extra practice ahead of the competition. That is the way matches will be decided should a tie occur, and Yorkshire won that too.

Patterson took two more wickets as the Stallions were restricted to 8-2 before Ballance hit all of the nine runs required.