ICC T20 WORLD CUP 2021

October 31, 2021

Adil Rashid

Sharjah Stadium

England

Pre Match Media Conference

Q. What are the conditions like you are as compared to previous times any changes you find in UAE as in previous days.

Q. Three wins from three. This is the perfect start to the tournament, isn't it?

ADIL RASHID: Yeah, definitely you would say that. Obviously winning the first three games, the first three in the tournament sets us up well.

But from our side, we're taking it a game at a time out. Whatever has happened now has gone. That's in the past. So whatever lies ahead, definitely our minds are set on to that. We're taking it a game at a time. And next we have Sri Lanka tomorrow. So we're definitely focused on that.

Q. Yesterday, were you surprised to open the bowling at all? I know you did it obviously in India.

ADIL RASHID: No, not really. Myself and Mogs have spoken over time as well, like there's some conditions, some seconds you may be required to open the bowling first up.

It wasn't a thing of surprise, whatever. More just a thing of you go first over, have a go, see what you can do, see if you can try to get a wicket, whatever. It wasn't a surprise at all, no.

Q. Now obviously you focused this week to Sri Lanka first and South Africa next weekend, both at Sharjah. Do you think that's going to be more beneficial to you? I think it's been one of the more spin-friendly grounds during this tournament.

ADIL RASHID: We don't know obviously until we get there, until we play there. Every pitch is different. Every opposition is different. Every ground, wherever, is different.

I think once we get there and once we play on the pitch then we'll really find out if it's helpful for the slower bowlers or for the pacers.

It depends on whatever pitch we play as well, fresh pitch or whatever it is. It's pretty hard to say the moment until we've actually played there. We've not played there yet, so we've got to see what happens.

Q. After such a commanding win over your biggest rivals, is it a bit of a challenge to focus on what's next when given the timeframe, 48 hours later?

ADIL RASHID: Not really. That's part and parcel of the job. That is what we're required to do as cricketers, professional sportsmen. We take each day as it comes. Whoever we play against, whoever it is, our mindset is exactly the same whoever we play against.

Like I said, the win yesterday, our mindset is fresh. We have a positive mindset. We'll go again. Tomorrow is the same thing, there won't be anything else different in our minds in that sense.

Q. Yourself and Chris Jordan are England's two leading T20 wicket takers. Do you see yourselves as like the leaders of the bowling attack at all?

ADIL RASHID: Obviously we've got a lot of experience in this type, with seam and spin. So I think we're all very together as one. We all feed off of each other. Everybody has different experiences. Everybody has their own ideas that people want to know and feed off.

But like I said, with our experience we have with bowling, everybody leads to that. Obviously myself and CJ, like I say, are the lead wicket takers. But we've got Chris Woakes there, who is experienced with that.

You've got Mukesh. We have a very experienced bowling lineup where we help each other, as opposed to just me and CJ telling or just giving information out. It's definitely about feeding off of each other because we look to hold each other up.

Q. When Australia will open inject a bit of emphasis, I think they've taken 35 runs in two overs, just how important is it to have someone like CJ and Kuman in that penultimate order and just check that momentum by going bang, bang?

ADIL RASHID: Definitely that happens in T20 cricket as well. It's very rarely where you just go through 20 overs where everything goes your way. You don't get hit for six or fours. Don't have a battle.

In T20 cricket will have ups and downs. And to have somebody the quality of CJ, he's proved himself around the world. He's a world-class bowler. To have him bowling at the death as well, it's a hard job as well but he does it very well.

But that's T20 cricket. There will be times where you get wickets, times where you go and bowl as well and you get hit and that's part and parcel.

Q. Can you remember anyone striking the ball more cleanly than Jos did last night?

ADIL RASHID: He did strike extremely well. It's pretty hard. But Jos, he played many innings. Yesterday he proved it again.

The quality of his shots, how he goes about, how destructive he is to the opposition, to any option. Australia world-class bowlers. Fast bowlers. He played very well. And it shows in the class of player.

Q. How would you bowl to him if you had to?

ADIL RASHID: It would be tricky as well, but depending on what mood he's in. If he's in the same mood as yesterday it would be pretty tough whoever is bowling, whether myself or whoever, it will be pretty tough to keep him quiet. We are very lucky to have a player like him on our team.

Q. Quick one about Livingston. He was talking last night about how blessed he is to work with you and Mo, a guy who can spin it both ways. And obviously you've had a method of bowling away from the left-hander and right-hander with leg breaks and googlies. He's doing it with off-breaks and leg breaks. He talked about the work he's done with you and Jeets and Mo to sort of pick your brains. Could you tell us a little bit how impressed you've been with the way he's learned and what tips you've given him about the skill of bowling in matchups?

ADIL RASHID: Yeah, definitely. Livi's definitely calm. He keeps things very simple, which is very good for a spin bowler. He keeps it very simple. He knows his game.

Like I said, the game has moved on from 10, 15 years ago now where people are starting to bowl off these leggies, left-hander bowling off of these. Right-hand bowling leggy. He's definitely got that skill.

He's definitely got a very clear mind. He's got good temperament and skills and he's determined to improve as well. And he's bowled exceptionally well so far as well this tournament.

For Mogs as well, that's another push side for him to have options. As a captain, you always want options. And those bowlers, like I said, with Livi there as well now giving a lot of options to Mogs. But he's definitely keeping it simple. Got a good mindset, got good skills, and he's shown it in the past couple of games.

Q. In terms of those options, obviously Mo was England's bowler of the tournament, arguably, going into the game yesterday. He didn't bowl at all. But that made a lot of sense in a matchup sense. But as bowlers, how easy is it to accept that some days the matchups may suggest you're not going to be the man and just sit in the outfield and chew the fat?

ADIL RASHID: It is what it is. In that sense it's the captain's decisions. Whatever the captain decides, we're all happy by it. Whatever decision he makes, we're all for it.

So like you say, obviously as a bowler you always want to bowl in a game. You always want to take part. Some days you're not required.

There's nothing personal to that. It's just the situation of the game. And some days you are. And that's how Mogs works, and whatever he sees. And he goes on his instinct.

Q. Obviously Jos will be headlines today, but that match was won in the powerplay, wasn't it, the Aussie's 21 for 4, that's what decided it, wasn't it, really?

ADIL RASHID: Obviously it was a great start. But that's T20. We can't just say it's decided on that. 21-for-4. And then Andrew batted 160, 170, you might have saw something different if that was the case.

But obviously to have that start, it definitely puts them on their back, gives us that momentum, gives us that confidence the mindset of we restrict them to a low score. Obviously in game four, wickets and powerplay, it puts us in a great position.

But we would never take our foot off the gas and say, yep, 21-for-4, we've won the game, let's just take it easy in that sense. No, no. Because T20 cricket is a funny game in that it can change very quickly. In a couple overs they can get 20, 30. Momentum goes away. We worked exceptionally well and I thought we bowled well all the way through.

Q. That win was so crushing. What does it say about England's World Cup chances, and what do you think it does to Australia, do you think?

ADIL RASHID: I think for Australia, I don't really actually know in that sense, in that mind. That's obviously their plan. That's how they deal with that. That's their problem in that sense.

But most off, like you said, whether we win by one run or win by 100 runs, we do the same thing with the same mindset. We come again. We don't look too far ahead. We don't think about winning the World Cup. That's still a long way away. We're not thinking about that. We're thinking about the next game, which is Sri Lanka, and doing the job there. Then the next game there. We take it a game at a time, a day at a time. We don't look too far ahead and say about the finals and stuff.

Q. On just on Jos, in your view what makes him such a destructive batsman? Because it was peaceful hitting, wasn't it?

ADIL RASHID: Definitely. He's done that many a times over the years. Like you said, it's the variety of shots he's got. The power he's got. The fearlessness. Putting bowlers under pressure. All of this combined makes him into probably one of the best players in the world, batsman in the world. But like I said, very lucky to have him on our team.

Q. Throughout the 2019 World Cup, we know that you, in a way, were sort of battling a little bit with your shoulder. Kind of caused you a little bit of discomfort. But you still kind of managed to kind of get through it. Since the break and the strength and conditioning that you have done, is this the best kind of fitness-wise and ability-wise that you're able to play in the World Cup, are you absolutely firing on all cylinders?

ADIL RASHID: Yes, definitely in terms of fitness, in terms of body I'm 100 percent fit. Since the 2019 World Cup to now, obviously a lot of rehab I had to do, a lot of strength and conditioning. But at this very moment, like I said, I'm fit and healthy and still obviously looking after myself in terms of going to the gym. I'm making sure I do the work, not just giving up and stuff.

But in terms of fitness and health and body-wise, I'm definitely 100 percent.

Q. Does that mean that you can really bowl anything and everything that you want to. You saw the googly rep quite nicely. The story the other night, was that part of the benefit of your shoulder being right?

ADIL RASHID: Yeah, definitely the benefit of that is being able to just bowl wherever I want when I want, how I want, what pace, without anything in my mind of any pain or any discomfort of something may go wrong.

So it gives me the confidence knowing that my shoulder is good; that I can try, go out there and bowl wherever I want. Obviously some days it will go well. Some days it won't. That's T20 cricket.

Besides that, it definitely gives me the mindset of I can actually go out there and try and bowl as I want without anything in my mind of any injuries or anything.

Q. Follow up on bowling to the England batsmen. I understand you like to have a little contest with them. And maybe the last bowl you bowl you offer dinner if anyone can hit you for 6. Have you had to dip your hand in your pocket yet?

ADIL RASHID: Yeah, I have actually, with me and Livi. We had -- I think it was four or six of the last bowl, massive six. But actually I myself I actually enjoying going in the nets and working like that with the batsmen, doing six and four and two and four, and batsmen playing in that situation where it gives the batsmen a bit more to think about. Gives myself as a bowler to think about more. That's just the way how I like to go about things in the nets as well.

Q. What did Livingston -- what did Livi choose for his reward?

ADIL RASHID: I can't remember. I think it was some kind of sushi. It was sushi or something. He ordered a lot more than he usually does.

Q. When you're bowling in the powerplay, what's your sort of game plan and how different is it? Is it sort of hard to grip the ball and stuff like that?

ADIL RASHID: My game plan is very similar whether I'm playing powerplay or the middle. The game plan for me, like I said, this team is trying to be attacking, try and create chances, try and make things happen. And that's it, really. And obviously you've got your fields set. If they nail you for a few 4s, a few 6s, it's not okay, but you have that mindset about you're creating chances, allowing the team to create some stuff, make things happen.

(Indiscernible) the batsmen who is leggy, a slider. Having them doubts. So for my mindset, whether I'm bowling in the first over or the latter over, it's similar in that sense. Nothing really changes. Obviously there are times when you might bowl different lines and lengths, that changes. But the mindset never changes in that way.

Q. Yesterday, had you kind of been told before that you were going to be open, or did you only find out as you were walking out on the field?

ADIL RASHID: No. You get told before sometimes, the captain will give you a bit of a heads-up, saying first over, I'll fancy the first over here, try and make some stuff happen, or whatever it is. And then you go there, you try to do that.

It's not like a thing of you're walking on the pitch and the captain says you're bowling first over. It's a bit of a shock to you in that sense. They give you a bit of notice so you can get your mind around it of how you're going to go about it.

Q. Is that like the previous day or just the day of the game that you were told?

ADIL RASHID: Like I said, sometimes the day. Sometimes it's the previous day. It all depends. But it's never a thing of just walking onto the pitch before, five minutes before we play, and then saying you'll have the first ball. It's obviously planned before that. Like the same day --

Q. How much have you worked with Liam specifically on his bowling specifically, his leggies?

ADIL RASHID: Myself, Liam, Mo, Jeets we're all working and helping each other in that sense. It's not just myself and Mo and Jeets helping. We're always feeding off of each other, always learning from each other in different ways. You always pick things up.

We're just discussing and we're all willing to learn and get better. That's the ultimate aim for all of us is to learn and get better and better. And that's why we like to say we enjoy bowling together because we're all helping each other, want each other to improve.

Q. What are the kind of adjustments that a spinner needs to make, especially when you're bowling on these UAE conditions?

ADIL RASHID: I think, like I say, wherever you play, whether it's UAE, Australia, England, every conditions are different.

So some conditions you may have to bowl a bit quicker, a bit slower, depending on the day. But I think ultimately as a spinner, each spinner, wherever you are in the world, has their own strengths. Some spinners like to bowl quick. And some spinners like to bowl slower.

Ultimately, it's that way where you stick to what you've been good at or successful at. And then from there you probably adjust a bit.

Is it a bit quicker? Is it a bit slower today? And then you adjust what it is for the day. And that's how I gauge it like that.

But definitely each condition you bowl, it may vary. But ultimately you do stick to your strengths first. And then you can just, as time goes on, you can figure out, is it a bit quicker or slower and what's required in that pitch.

Q. And are there any specific areas that so far you have been focusing on?

ADIL RASHID: No, nothing really. It's the same thing. But obviously getting better at that. The leg spin, the groove, slide and variation, the eyeballing is getting better and better and trying to improve that day by day. Some days it comes out well. Some days it doesn't. That's T20 cricket. That's cricket itself.

But it's definitely going into the nets and working hard and just trying to repeat, repeat, get better, improve it day by day in that sense, in that way.

Q. What do you think the impact of dew is too much in this tournament? Like, how is it affecting too much when the other bowlers are playing first or second?

ADIL RASHID: To be fair, at this moment in time we have not experienced that as a team, any dew yet. Last night we didn't experience any dew.

The West Indies, we didn't experience any dew. I think it's different because I can only talk from our experience when we've played. When we've played so far, we've not had any dew or anything like that. But maybe, like, some other games there is dew and whatever.

So I can't really speak on that sense how the game will turn out or whatever because I only can speak from what we've gone through and what we've experienced in this tournament so far.

And we haven't really experienced any dew from our side. Like I said, maybe other teams have, but we haven't. So that's hard to speak to, if it's fair or unfair, because we've not experienced that.