Adil Rashid believes England would have been as dominant as they currently are against Australia in the ongoing ODI series even if the visitors had played their full-strength XI.

England head into the fifth and final match at Old Trafford with a chance to go 5-0, but questions have been raised whether the No.1-ranked ODI team would have been as dominant had Australia been able to play their strongest side.

The visitors are missing as many as six first-team players – Steve Smith and David Warner are serving 12-month bans for their part in the ball-tampering scandal in March, while Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood, the pacemen, are all nursing injuries, along with Mitchell Marsh, the all-rounder.

Asked if the series would have proceeded differently had these players been available, Rashid said: “No, I don’t think so. Those players were still playing in Australia (in January) – Steve Smith, Warner, Cummins, Hazlewood. They were still playing. We won 4-1 there, and here it’s 4-0, so I think it’s very similar.”

During the fourth ODI in Chester-le-Street, Rashid went past Graeme Swann’s tally of 106 wickets in ODIs, making him England’s most successful spinner in the format.

“I’m proud of that,” said Rashid. “Swanny was a great bowler for England across all formats, so going past him means a lot.”

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