MAHMOOD I’M READY TO DELIVER
After a talk with legend Shoaib Akhtar, a white-ball audition for England and a Test call-up SAQIB MAHMOOD insists…
SAQIB Mahmood will never forget the time one of his heroes world.insisted he could turn him into one of the fastest bowlers in the
‘i was always a lover of fast bowling and he was the quickest around when i was a kid so whenever he was playing i’d sit in front of the telly,’ said Mahmood of Pakistan’s Shoaib akhtar.
‘Then i spoke to him just after the Pakistan Super League finished this year.
‘He wanted me to stick around so we could work together but we were due on a flight home that night. Shoaib reckoned i could be a real tearaway and bowl 93-94 miles-per-hour plus.
‘He didn’t want to confuse me over the phone but said if we ever have the chance to work together he’d love to do it. if our paths cross in the future it would be interesting to hear what he has to say.’
Not that birmingham-born Mahmood, 24, is short of pace. His speed, together with considerable skill as a seam and reverse swing bowler, has made him one of the best prospects in England, as he proved during his call-up to the one-day squad this summer.
Now he is preparing for what he considers the ultimate step up after being named in England’s 15-man squad for next week’s third Test against india at Headingley.
but first let’s talk about speed. ‘i am trying to look for that extra bit of pace actually,’ said Mahmood. ‘at this level it’s only adding a couple of additional miles per hour.
‘i bowl 87-88 consistently but the magic number is 90 so if my stock ball was 90mph and my quicker ball was 93 or 94 it could make the world of difference.
‘if i can do it without compromising skill or accuracy then all the better. i’m 24 so maybe, when i get a bit older and stronger, i’ll get that extra bit of pace because the guys who bowl quicker than me are all older. but that would be massive at international level.’
it is with a white-ball that Mahmood has made more of an impact, certainly at international level, but it is with a red one that this engaging and impressive character wants to make his mark.
‘a Test cap would mean so much more than anything else,’ he said. ‘For me, it’s still the pinnacle and if i had to play just one format for England it would be Test cricket.
‘it’s five days of real graft. i’ve not played in a five-day win yet but there’s nothing like a four-day victory with Lancashire going down to the last session.
‘You’ve got a ball in your hand and you have to take wickets. We had a Roses win this season and that was the best day i’ve had on a cricket field. if i’m ever able to do that in an England shirt it would be amazing.’
The chance to do that will come against india if England throw him in. Mahmood has dreamt of it.
‘From a young age i’ve been preparing,’ he said. ‘Test cricket is the hardest form of the game, with the level of scrutiny.
‘i remember my old bowling coach Kevin Shine always used to look at my technical stuff and there was a time when i was almost over-technical. i would ask about everything in my action and he asked why.
‘i said that if i ever play Tests for England, which is what i want to do, and a guy in the TV studio is ripping my action apart i want to know whether i should ignore their advice or learn from it.
‘it’s impossible to know whether i’m ready for Test cricket before i’ve played but this is the best position i’ve been in to potentially play and i feel more ready now than a year ago.’
it is in the last year that a bowler who made his Twenty20 international debut almost two years ago has, he believes, matured and gone up a level. and being around the England team in Covid bubbles has helped that.
‘i’d say i’ve made improvements in the red-ball format,’ said Mahmood. ‘before now, i felt my best chance of playing for England was with the white ball and sometimes i prioritised that.
‘i’d give that a little bit more focus but early this year i was out in Sri Lanka and india with the Test squad and that was the real big change for me. When i was there i did see i had attributes other bowlers didn’t have. i had the pace and when the ball was reverse swinging i was on top of
my game. but the one thing all the best bowlers had out there was accuracy and that was a bit of a lightbulb moment.
‘i know i’ve got wicket-taking balls and that extra pace that comes from rhythm but, as long as my accuracy is good, then the other stuff will look after itself.
‘So i had a chat with Jon Lewis (England bowling coach) in the winter and we put a tea towel out on the line and length i wanted to bowl and he told me to hit it as hard as i could. it was a slightly fuller length around fourth stump. That was my focus, trying to nail that, and then doing the same in a game. What i try to do before i bowl now is stand at the end of my run, look at the wicket and visualise the area i want to hit.
‘it has helped me overcome being a bit of a nervous starter.’
The company he kept within the England squad helped Mahmood too. ‘i’ve been lucky to have Jimmy anderson at Lancashire coming through the ranks and then when i’ve been with the England squad Stuart broad has been there too.
‘and the best thing you can do when you’re training alongside these guys is not only chat but also listen to conversations they’re having with each other.
‘i’ve only played 22 first-class games but coming through the ranks at Lancs and then being with the England side means i’ve learnt more than if i’d played 50.’
The biggest glimpse so far of what he can do came in that oneday series this summer when the
whole of the first-choice squad was ruled out by a Covid outbreak in the camp.
Mahmood jumped at his unexpected chance and became player of the series by taking nine wickets in the 3-0 win over Pakistan.
‘Two days before my call-up, I was trying to get my head around playing just county cricket for the rest of the season as I thought my chance of playing for England this year had gone,’ he said.
‘I got a niggle just before the first squad of the season to face Sri Lanka was picked then I found out I was going to be considered. So that was a setback.
‘I was only out for 10 days or so but the timing meant it collided with that and selection for the Pakistan ODI series. Then all of a sudden I was back in the squad.
‘I was playing regular white-ball cricket so as soon as I got the call I thought my game was in a good place to crack on. I was very relaxed and it all came off for me in that series.’
Crucially, he felt comfortable in his surroundings. ‘Before this summer I did feel as though I hadn’t really grabbed my chances. When I played for England it was almost as if I was keeping someone’s seat warm. You get your opportunity but you know Jofra Archer, Chris Woakes and Mark Wood are all due to be back and that was in the back of my head.
‘That Pakistan series gave me the confidence. Andy Flower said something that stuck with me a few years ago, when I was with the Lions: “If you get picked for an England side make sure you’re the player making the team better.”
‘Perhaps it was easier against Pakistan because it was a whole new squad but if I do play in any Test I’m going to have that mindset: that I’ve got to perform in a way that will improve the side.’
It is one he hopes to take with him into Headingley on Wednesday. ‘If it happens it will be unbelievable but I’ll try to stay levelheaded,’ he added. ‘But I can’t help being excited. It’s what everything has been working towards.’
That hard work could see a Test bowling star born this summer.