I felt under pressure for England after being dropped when bowling well

When I made my England debut against New Zealand in a one-dayer it was simultaneously one of the proudest moments of my life and a real wake-up call.

If I am honest, it probably came a bit too soon for me considering I’d barely played any first-class cricket.

But the selectors were looking for players with a point of difference, a spark, and they liked my raw pace.

So I was on an England A tour before I knew it and then picked for an ODI against New Zealand in Bristol in 2004.

Playing on a good pitch against top batsmen like Nathan Astle and Stephen Fleming – it didn’t exactly go to plan but I learned a great deal. I’d been thrown in the deep end and realised that I had a lot to work on.

Until that point in my career I’d been able to rely on my pace to get me out of trouble, and now here I was in the international game where good balls got hit, let alone the bad ones.

As a kid my brothers and I watched my father Shahid play in the Bolton Metropolitan Leagues and occasionally got a game.

I was always tall for my age and fast so I had always been playing above my age but my pace had allowed me to get away with it.

Now here I was back at Lancashire after that debut and suddenly I realised I needed to have a plan, to actually think about how I was going to get batsmen out.

Those next few years working with Glen Chapple and Peter Martin and learning more about my own game were great and I improved a lot.

I had great times with Lancashire but my ambition was always to play for England – I’m a competitive guy who wanted to test myself against the best.

Being of Pakistani origin – my father came over aged eight – cricket was in my blood and it was a very proud moment for me and my family when I made my Test debut at Lord’s in 2006.

I can still remember Freddie Flintoff giving me my cap that morning and I bowled pretty well against Sri Lanka. I did OK in the second Test at Edgbaston as well but for the third Test at Trent Bridge the management decided they wanted to go with Jon Lewis.

That decision surprised me as I’d been bowling well and been getting most of my wickets through swing – the main reason they were calling up Lewis. And from then on I always felt under pressure to perform with England.

I felt like I had to get it right or be dropped, considering they’d dropped me before after playing well!

I needed a sports psychologist but that only came into the game near the end of my career. It made a great difference and I’d recommend it to any youngster coming through – even just an hour a week can help.

I was carrying a lot of negative thoughts, every time I got hit for four it was a disaster and I was putting myself under a lot of pressure to play for England. That’s what makes the difference at top level, a lot of people have the talent but mindset separates the very best. After the ODI series against South Africa in 2009, England went for younger blood – and I thought that was the right call. And I finished my career with a couple of years at Essex, not playing as much as I’d have liked but trying to help out the youngsters. Hopefully, I can continue that with my Manchester academy I’m trying to set up.