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Rashid: England will take World Cup semi as just another game

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England celebrate (Getty)
England celebrate (Getty)

Cape Town - England are now chasing history at the World Cup but, on home soil, Adil Rashid knows it is vital that they do not get carried away with the occasion.

England have never before won the World Cup and are now in the semi-finals for the first time in 27 years.

Next week they will take on Australia or India at Edgbaston with a place in an historic World Cup final on the line.

But Rashid – who played all nine group games for the tournament hosts and took eight wickets – insists his side will be taking it all in their stride.

“It's the same feeling,” Rashid said.

“Yes, we know it's a semi-final of a World Cup but we will definitely take it as another game.

“We'll go out there, try our best, have a positive mindset, play a positive brand of cricket with bat and ball and see what happens.

"We won't be taking any pressure on, we'll go out there, enjoy our cricket and hopefully everything else will look after itself.”

Rashid has been troubled this summer by a shoulder injury that limited his involvement in the warm-ups to the tournament.

But his importance to this side is emphasised by the fact that Trevor Bayliss has yet to rotate him out of the first XI.

And the legspinner insists he is firing on all cylinders for the end of the tournament.

“I had the niggle a month ago. Just before the World Cup I had an injection and had a shoulder problem. It's all good for now. I'm 100 per cent,” Rashid added.

“I'm trying to (bowl all variations), sometimes it can be a bit difficult.

"That's not an excuse for not bowling it much. At times it can be a bit difficult but that's one of my strengths, my variations.

"For me it's just getting back to bowling my variations.

“There's been some games where I felt as though I've been a bit unlucky, there's been a few dropped catches and missed stumpings and whatever.

"If you take all that in things could be completely different, you could easily be on 15 or 16 wickets.

“It is what it is, dropped catches and missed chances are part and parcel of cricket.

"But we're winning, we've got through to the semis so we're in a good place.”

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