England will need leg spinner Adil Rashid to play a key role in this summer’s ICC Cricket World Cup if they are going to lift the trophy, according to former spinner Phil Tufnell.

He sees the Yorkshire wrist spinner’s ability to take wickets in the middle overs as something makes him dangerous against all opposition.

Commentator and cult hero Tufnell, who played 42 Tests for England, taking 121 wickets, believes the sides who will go far in the competition need bowlers who can gets batsman out in the middle overs, which helps slow the scoring rate.

He is backing wily operators like Rashid to come to the fore between the 10thand 40thovers, which will make the difference with all sides aiming to tee off and score more than 350 in each innings.

“Eoin Morgan trusts Adil Rashid in those middle overs where he can take wickets,” he said.

“That’s what you have to do against these powerful batting line-ups. He is going to be crucial for England in the World Cup.

“The pitches will be flat-ish but as the sun comes out and we go through the tournament they will start to turn a little bit more. He is absolutely indispensable to this England team for me.”

Tufnell was speaking at the ICC Cricket World Cup Trophy Tour, Driven by Nissan, at Heathrow airport.

He was joined by Women’s World Cup winner Isa Guha, where they appeared to giveaway tickets to England versus Australia on June 25 to a lucky competition winner – Jodie Turner, from Coventry.

She was chosen from hundreds of fans who were given a chance to pose with a giant replica of the trophy, which will be at Terminal 3 throughout the tournament, as well as the real thing which taken to the airport as part of the trophy tour.

Rashid played his first game for England in one-day cricket almost a decade ago but has become crucial under the captaincy of Eoin Morgan.

Since the Middlesex batsman took the armband in 2015, Rashid has 115 wickets to his name, with almost half of those coming since the start of last year.

“Eoin Morgan will be leaning heavily on him, he is going to be crucial for how we get on,” he added.

“Rashid is England’s X-factor in those middle periods and nowadays you need to use those for taking wickets.

“He has a bit of mystery when he is bowling. Batsman find it difficult to set themselves against him. He can spin it both ways and throw in his top-spinner as well.”

ICC Cricket World Cup Trophy Tour, driven by Nissan, was on a 100-day tour of England and Wales at over 100 locations and events before arriving back in London for the opening match.