Rashid’s exit may be first of many – Willey

Cricket England all-rounder David Willey believes Adil Rashid could be the first of many top players to turn their backs on red-ball cricket.

Rashid has decided to focus exclusively on limited-overs competitions and is renegotiating a deal with Yorkshire to reflect his withdrawal from the first-class game.

The leg-spinner, who won the last of 10 Test caps in December 2016, has not closed the door on a future return, but, at 29 and with lucrative Twenty20 opportunities at an all-time high, few expect it.

Rashid has gone a step further than one-day captain Eoin Morgan, who has not donned his Middlesex whites since 2015 but remains theoretically available to do so.

As such, his announcement is sure to usher in plenty of soul-searching from those who fear for Test cricket’s status at the pinnacle of the game and hold the Specsavers County Championship as the premier domestic competition.

But Willey, Rashid’s teammate with club and country, sees it as a natural step and one that others could soon pursue.

“It’s to be expected. It is too much to play everything and that’s cricket now,” he said.

“If you look around now, with all the white-ball cricket around the world, people can make a career out of that.

“People make decisions in all different careers as to what they enjoy and what suits them and it wouldn’t surprise me if more guys do it over the next few years with the amount of white-ball cricket that’s available throughout the year.

“Whether more people decide to do it or not is another matter, but it’s certainly been discussed. It’s just the way the game seems to be going and these Twenty20 competitions are appealing, not only for the cricket but also financially.”

England felt compelled to rest Joe Root, Chris Woakes and Moeen Ali for the ongoing T20 Triangular Series.

“It’s probably nearly impossible to play Test cricket when you’re playing so much whiteball cricket,” added Willey.

“Last year, we were barely available for any four-day cricket because of the Champions Trophy, so it becomes difficult to play regular red-ball cricket, which you need to be doing if you want to be pushing for Tests.”

Australia completed a world-record T20 chase as they hunted down New Zealand’s 243-6 yesterday. Eden Park’s short boundaries, a docile pitch and fearless hitting saw an incredible 32 sixes in the match.

The result denied New Zealand the chance to book their place in the Triangular Series final, and they now go head to head with England tomorrow.

England, beaten by the Black Caps last weekend and well behind on net run-rate, must win by a handsome margin to reach the final