England cricketer Adil Rashid talks Northern Superchargers

It’s been a busy week for the leg-spinning supremo with the Northern Superchargers gearing up for the fourth edition of ‘The Hundred’, the sport’s latest version of all-action cricket.

On Friday night, Rashid and his teammates took to the Headingley turf to face off against the Trent Rockets in their opening fixture of the competition.

However, amidst all the chaos ‘The Hundred’ brings, Rashid and several of his Superchargers’ colleagues stopped by at Bradford (Park Avenue) Cricket Ground on Wednesday evening to engage with fans and speak with the media ahead of their opener.

Furthermore, a brand-new mural celebrating the career of Bradford’s very own Rashid was unveiled to everyone in attendance.

Speaking to the T&A, England’s highest ever wicket-taker among spin bowlers in both ODIs and T20Is expressed his gratitude for the gesture.

He said: “Firstly, I’d like to thank the Northern Superchargers for organising for the mural to be there; it’s a very nice touch from them, and also to Adam who did an exceptional job with the mural.

“Obviously, it’s a proud moment for myself and my family members, but also for the community too.

“They’ve shown a great deal of support to me over the years, so I’m pleased to give them something back in the form of a mural.

“It (the mural) represents the story of a boy who has come from Bradford and that you can achieve something quite big if you put your mind to it regardless of your race, your religion or your background.

“So, it’s a great feeling because it’s what I represent as a person.”

Adil Rashid engaging with supporters at Headingley (Image: PA)

Rashid is no stranger to giving back to the community having opened up the ‘Adil Rashid Cricket Academy’ back in 2022.

His intention was and still is to provide aspiring cricketers from around West Yorkshire with the opportunity to develop their skills on one of the four indoor nets at the Thornton complex.

Discussing the significance of giving something back to the community, the two-time World Cup winner with England alluded to the fact that he’d come through a challenging journey to get to where he is today.

He said: “I’ve been around cricket since I was six years old, and I know how difficult it can be, particularly at a young age when you’re trying to search for a facility or even an opportunity to get involved with the sport.

“In some areas of the country, like Bradford, there aren’t many cricket centres or sport centres so that was my thinking behind opening the academy.

“I want to provide the youngsters of today with a better opportunity than what I had, and hopefully that leads the city to some talented and aspiring young cricketers.”

Following his visit to Avenue on Wednesday, Rashid’s focus immediately switched to ‘The Hundred’ and the Northern Superchargers’ fixture with Trent Rockets on Friday evening.

Established in 2021, 'The Hundred' is a 100-ball cricket tournament involving teams in major cities across England and Wales run by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB).

The format was invented with the expectation that each match would last around two-and-a-half hours, with excitement and fast paced action at the forefront of the idea.

Rashid, who is one of white ball cricket’s most established stars, spoke of his delight to be back involved with this eye-catching competition.

Adil Rashid has been a staple figure in white ball cricket for a long period of time (Image: Joe Giddens/PA)

He said: “It’s such an exciting tournament and there is a real buzz about it.

“It’s something different with the 100-ball format, but it brings in big crowds, families and young kids, which represents a different kind of audience to ‘usual’ cricket.

“It offers additional excitement too with the mixing of players from the south and the north, who come together to play under the Northern Superchargers franchise.

“It’s been a massive success over the past three years, and I do believe that it’s here to stay.”

Rashid added: “As time goes on, I think it will evolve and that more people will be watching, and more people will be getting into cricket purely because of The Hundred.

“You see thousands of kids coming to watch these games, which is what you don’t see sometimes in the T20 Blast games.

“I think this is one of the only competitions around the world where you get so many kids coming to watch.”

England legend Andrew Flintoff will act as a head coach for the first time in his new role with the Northern Superchargers for ‘The Hundred’.

Keighley-born, Harry Brook will also captain the side for this year’s tournament.

Giving his thoughts on the pairs’ new roles, Rashid said: “I’m sure they’ll both settle into their jobs well.

“Fred (Flintoff) is an experienced player; obviously, he’s new to coaching but with his experience and the way he is as an individual, it commands respect.

“I’m sure he’ll do a tremendous job.

“As for Brooky, with the way he goes about things, I’m sure he’ll do an equally impressive job.”

Rashid was quick to point Brook towards a future England captaincy role.

He said: “Brooky is very mature for his age (25) and I can definitely see him being the captain of England in the future.

“Being captain at this tournament means it’s one step closer to him achieving that because that’s how it works.

“It’s a new role for him in the sense of captaincy but it’s an exciting time for him, and I think everybody is excited for him.”

You can watch Northern Superchargers’ next fixture in the Hundred on Tuesday evening as they take on Southern Brave on Sky Sports, with the fixture set to commence at 6:35 pm.