Adil hopes to deliver in final despite shoulder problem

LONDON: Eoin Morgan is the sort of captain, who places great faith in his players.

Take for example the case of Adil Rashid.

The leggie has had his ups and downs but Morgan continued to trust him despite his below-par showing in the group stages of the World Cup.

Adil repaid his captain’s trust with a three-wicket haul against Australia as England romped to an eight-wicket triumph in the second semi-final at Edgbaston on Thursday.

“He (Morgan) always has the faith in me from day one till now,” the spinner said ahead of Sunday’s final against New Zealand at Lord’s. “There are going to be games where you don’t go well, that’s part and parcel of cricket but he always has the confidence that I can do a job.

“He’s 100 per cent the best captain I’ve ever played under. He knows my game now inside out,” said Adil who took just eight wickets in the tournament at 54 before the semi-finals.

“I’ve been with him for four years, through good times and not so good times. He knows my strengths and what I’m capable of,” he said.

“We have that trust as well. If he senses something, we’ll go by it. We’re easy-going like that and I 100 per cent trust him in all the decisions he makes,” said Adil, who is only the fourth leg-spinner to play One-day International cricket for England.

Adil has been unable to unleash his lethal googly because of a shoulder problem.

“I’ve had a bit of a shoulder problem, so I’ve not bowled the googlies as much,” he said.

“I know that it’s a big weapon for me. My shoulder has that little bit of problem and I knew I still had to bowl it, even if there was a bit of a pain.

“Before the shoulder I was confident bowling everything. Once you have a niggle it becomes a bit harder with the rotation - the arm gets a bit lower and you don’t find that snap.”

He is hoping to play a role in the final.

“It was nice to contribute and get a few wickets, I reckon there’s been a few times I’ve bowled better but not got the rewards. That happens in cricket, sometimes you bowl well and don’t get wickets.”