Rashid's turn to learn

By Pranav Soneji

Rashid took just two wickets in three matches against Australia

Adil Rashid is not happy. He has just seen the speedgun clock 54mph for a two-pace delivery in an impromptu cricket net slap-bang in the financial heart of London.

"What did Morgan get?" he demands, only to be told that England one-day team-mate Eoin had managed a whopping two mph faster during his stint at a NatWest cricket roadshow a few days earlier.

Rashid knows, however, that his future is not in seam bowling, it is his supple leg-spinning wrist which, having brought him 171 first-class wickets in three seasons, is the key to future cricket stardom.

At international level, the 20-year-old from Yorkshire is still at the 'promising' stage after appearing in four games during the World Twenty20 earlier this year and three in the recent one-day series against Australia.

He has kept his place in the squad for the ICC Champions Trophy and South Africa, for him, is certainly the land of opportunity.

England play their first match against Sri Lanka on Friday and if selected, Rashid will have the chance to stake a claim for a return to the republic with the Test squad in two months' time.

Leg-spinners can be fragile creatures in need of a reassuring arm around the shoulder when a huge six sails into the top tier and a word in the ear to say "don't worry, next ball he's yours".

But Rashid is undeterred when he is on the receving end - whether it be international cricket, a county match or a back-yard hit with elder brothers Haroon and Amar.

For each batsmen you have your own gameplans on what to bowl, what field placement to set and try to bowl to that plan

Adil Rashid

"Batsmen are there to get runs and your job is to get wickets," he told BBC Sport.

"If he goes over the top, you have to go back to your mark, have a little think in your head and work out what to do next.

"It doesn't knock your confidence, but it does lurk at the back of your mind. It's the ball after that really matters."

Rashid has developed under the watchful eye of Terry Jenner, the former Australia leg-spinner who, for almost two decades, served as Shane Warne's mentor and confidant.

Rashid was spotted as a 14-year-old at one of the ECB's spin-bowling programme, Jenner's annual quest to unearth two tweakers of promise to scrutinise for two weeks at his base in Adelaide.

"I've been to see him twice in Australia to work on my bowling and he has been a big influence on my development," said Rashid.

"I spoke to him recently, he was in England coaching at the time in Yorkshire, about my performances. He's really big on me doing the basics well.

"Everybody has their own style but he told me to be myself and work on a few technical points.

"It's more about my action, rather than what balls you have got and the outcome of your delivery. There were a few things to work on, nailing the basics.

"Alignment and head position are the keys for bowling in a consistent area and getting a shape and spin."

Rashid also has the benefit of consulting Mushtaq Ahmed, the former Pakistan leg-spinner of 185 Test wickets fame, now England's spin coach.

Jenner's work on Rashid's action leaves "Mushy" free to advise on the mental side; how to create doubt in a batsman's mind and when to unleash the full armoury of leggies, wrong'uns and flippers.

"He's totally the opposite to Terry Jenner, whereas he works on my action, Mushy concentrates more on how to work batsmen out," said Rashid.

"For each batsmen you have your own gameplans on what to bowl, what field placement to set and try to bowl to that plan.

Rashid has four first-class centuries to his name

"There is also the opportunity to look back on previous matches - every game is recorded by the analyst and she has all the footage from five years back to today.

"It helps quite a bit if you want to study a batsmen to find his weaknesses - or his strengths."

Graeme Swann, currently England's first-choice spin bowler, believes Rashid, at his age, is "probably better than anyone there has ever been bar one Australian fella".

And that Australian fella, or Shane Warne to everyone else, was also impressed with what he has seen during the summer.

Add his nascent batting skills into the mixer and it's easy to see why Rashid has the opportunity to cement a place in the England side for the next 10 years at least.

"I can only be the batsman I know how to be," said Rashid, who has four first-class hundreds to his name.

"Coming up through the ranks I have been an attacking batsmen playing on instinct - if the ball is there to hit, hit it.

"But you have to play different games for each game, Twenty20 or 50-over cricket you have to hit sixes or boundaries, but in championship or Test cricket you've got to take your time and adapt to the situation."

The Champions Trophy is also the ideal barometer for England's selectors to assess Rashid's progression two years ahead of the 2011 World Cup in the subcontinent.

The slow, grassless, spin-friendly pitches in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh will be the stuff of Rashid's dreams.

Now is the time to turn promise into performance.