Rashid gives England gift of legspin

You would not have to go back very far to find the notion that England would field a legspinner in nine consecutive one-day internationals - and 11 white-ball matches in all - as scarcely believable.

But over this summer Adil Rashid has found himself a secure place among England's bowling attack and on Tuesday produced his most consistent display at international level with 2 for 41 at Old Trafford. Conditions were in Rashid's favour but he was not overwhelmed by the scenario and, barring the occasion full toss which will remain a professional hazard, pitched his legspinner and googly with encouraging accuracy. A Test debut beckons against Pakistan next month.

It has been a test of nerve for Rashid throughout the season. The batsmen's first priority has often been to try and put him into the stands. More than just occasionally they have succeeded, but a more mature Rashid - having been toughened up in the hard-knock school of Yorkshire cricket - has kept coming back.

He has benefitted from a coaching set-up that understands the value of an attacking spinner: Paul Farbrace often had them when with Sri Lanka and as an Australian Trevor Bayliss has come through a culture that has, more often than not, embraced spin.

"Farby is doing exceptionally well, a top job, he wants us to play fearless cricket, go out there and play how we want to play," Rashid said. "It's the same with Trev, he has been really encouraging, personally encouraging me to spin the ball, looking to take wickets and be positive and that is throughout the whole squad as well."

It often needs a deep breath, and that is likely to be the case in the future too, but with sides batting so deep in one-day cricket the ability to take wickets, even if the cost is sometimes high, is not to be overlooked. He has 15 wickets in the calendar year and with England having another six ODIs in 2015 will surely become just the sixth English spinner to take 20 in a year. That highlights the limited role spin has historically played for England in the one-day game - certainly from a wicket-taking point of view - but it is to Rashid's credit that he has not blinked first.

"Before I came into this one-day series I had a clear mindset of what my role is in the team and what I'm looking to do," Rashid said. "It's a bit of a risk but my aim is to create chances, sometimes I might get hit for a few, sometimes I might get wickets but that's the risk I take.

"It's different set up from when I first came in, a whole different environment, my mindset is a lot clearer, the coaches, the captain, the mindset of the team is a lot clearer."

A bowler like Rashid can, in some ways, been seen as a beneficiary of the increasing scoring rates and batting power in one-day cricket rather than the victim bowlers are often perceived as. If you have a few tricks up your sleeve, you become a valuable resource.

"Wrist spin is seen as a way of taking wickets and that's what my job is in the team. Over time things have changed and people are looking to get wickets in that middle period as well," Rashid said. "It's a key period, and that's why you get people involved who can bowl variations, legspinners, topspinners whatever."

There is a comparison worth noting between these two teams. Australia, too, are forming a new-look spin attack but they have gone down the orthodox route of Ashton Agar who made his debut at Old Trafford. They have previously tried to find a legspinner for the one-day side; on the previous Ashes tour in 2013 Fawad Ahmed made his debut but his international career - hampered by poor batting and poor fielding - has never taken off.

James Muirhead was then given the T20 role in early 2014 - and went to the World T20 in Bangladesh - but has since drifted so far down the pecking order that he struggles for a game in any format for Victoria and was traded from Melbourne Stars to Perth Scorchers in the Big Bash.

Cameron Boyce and Adam Zampa are the current youngsters in the mix. Boyce made a 20,000-mile round trip to England for what ended up as one over in the T20 in Cardiff. Zampa, meanwhile, was used as a net bowler during the Ashes although has yet to have a taste of international cricket.

Darren Lehmann acknowledge the role Rashid - and legspin in general - can play. "It's an advantage to have any wrist spinner if they're bowling well," he said. "He bowled well the other day, previous games he probably hasn't bowled as well as he would have liked. They go for runs but they get wickets, so he's a good young prospect for them."

Australia are still ahead in the one-day series, and will wrap it up with victory at Headingley, but even if they come out on top over these five matches England do have one thing they would like. And for that to be a legspinner is a turn up for the books.