LONDON, July 21: Adil Rashid, the first Yorkshire-born Asian to make his debut for his county in a Championship fixture, got his career off to a dramatic start by taking six for 67 in Friday's First Division win over Warwickshire at Scarborough.
Yorkshire eventually cruised home by an innings and 96 runs and it was teenager Rashid who started the visitors' slide on the final day of four when he caught and bowled Jonathan Trott (43) off the last ball before lunch.
Rashid then had opener Ian Westwood lbw for 80 before dimissing Luke Parker, Dougie Brown, former England batsman Nick Knight and Timothy Groenewald on his way to a final analysis of 28-6-67-6. And, for good measure, the 18-year-old Rashid then took a catch to dismiss tailender Neil Carter off Tim Bresnan as Warwickshire lost their ninth wicket.
Bradford-born Rashid's success has significance for Yorkshire merely beyond that of a player enjoying a promising debut.
The county, which has one of the largest British-born Asian populations, has often been accused of racism in its selection policies with many ethnic minority players claiming they weren't given a fair chance.
And sections of the crowd at Headingley, Yorkshire's Leeds headquarters, were notoriously abusive towards non-white players, with West Indies batting great Viv Richards one of those singled out in the past.
But the club, who until they signed India star Sachin Tendulkar in 1992 had a policy of playing only Yorkshire-born players, have always rejected accusations of racism and insisted that all those selected for the first team have been picked on merit. —AFP