The slingy quick England have been looking for?

JAMES COYNE: Reckon England could do with a slingy practitioner of reverse swing ahead of two T20 World Cups and an Ashes series away from home? Saqib Mahmood could be the answer...

Saqib Mahmood says he is a far better pace and reverse-swing option for England since working with Darren Gough on the tour of New Zealand.

The exciting Lancashire quick seems to possess the ideal action for stump-hitting yorkers and slingy pace that England have tended to lack since the days of Gough and Simon Jones. Almost as impressive is the way he talks about improving his game.

Mahmood is one of three fast bowlers – Olly Stone and Craig Overton the others – placed this week on new ECB pace bowling contracts designed by Ashley Giles to protect their workload leading up to the Ashes. The theory being that England will need a bulk of them.

Mahmood says that Gough, who was with England as a bowling consultant ahead of the New Zealand Test series late last year, immediately ironed out a couple of technical issues. It will be crucial ahead of Mahmood’s upcoming assignments in the ODIs and T20Is in South Africa and then in an England Lions trip - his availability will be determined at a later date - to Australia later in February.

“Speed is important to me, and it’s something that can set me apart from a lot of guys in the County Championship. I was 5mph off where I wanted to be [in New Zealand], but it was nicer when I moved to the red-ball tour – a new fresh set of eyes in Darren Gough picked up a couple of things pretty quickly.

“I felt out of rhythm and couldn’t work out what it was but he spotted it straight away – something to do with my run-up. As soon as I put that back into my training I felt good again and thought: ‘God, I wish someone had told me this two weeks ago’.

“I really enjoyed working with him. He was a bit out of the box and because we’re similar bowlers it was very relevant to me.”

Mahmood says that working with the best exponent of reverse swing in his time has added to his craft. It was an important reminder of the worth of specialist consultant coaches, who might spot something different and – as Gough clearly did with Mahmood – inspire him with his knowledge.

“For me it was really good because I obviously get reverse when I bowl, but I wouldn’t know how to go about it as best as I could before I worked with Goughie. He told me how much he practised it, which I was nowhere near.

“And when I first started practising… for example, when you’re trying to reverse swing a ball back into a right-hander your mind is telling you to ‘push’ the ball… but you don’t want to do that. As easy as it sounds, it does take a while to get used to it.

“By the back end of the trip I was doing 10 balls at the end of every session and I actually got pretty good. And after that it was: ‘I can’t wait to get a ball in my hand and do this in a game’, so I’m effective from ball one of my spell, rather than getting a feel for it by my second over. I made good strides.”

Mahmood proved quite expensive in his three T20 internationals in New Zealand, and was in the squad for the two Tests without getting the nod. He used his time in a training bib to keep a close eye on how Trent Boult and Tim Southee – New Zealand’s two expert quick bowlers – went about their business with the red Kookaburra. They have spent their career bowling with a ball which does not tend to move laterally off the surface. And England’s bowlers will need to be get more out of red Kookaburras come Australia in two years’ time if they are to stand a chance of winning a Test series there for the first time since 2010/11.

^{Mahmood has replaced the injured Jofra Archer in England's squad for the T20I series in South Africa}

Mahmood says: “I wasn’t involved in the first Test at Mount Maunganui, so it was a case of watching how the New Zealand guys bowled. I was watching quite closely, seeing the fields they have, the tactics. It was a case of looking how to bowl outside of England and with a Kookaburra.

“That’s something which I can use as one of my strengths away from England and with the Kookaburra. It’s also practising new skills for unresponsive pitches.

“I started working on a leg-cutter which has worked well for Stuart Broad. It wasn’t a case of me thinking: ‘I’m ready for Test cricket or not’. It was looking at certain things I can work on so that if I do get a go I’ve got skills I can turn to.”

Mahmood suggested that the way ahead is not always the perfectly upright seam presentation that English seamers have traditionally prided themselves on.

“I found in the nets [in New Zealand] if I bowled seam upright it looked nice and pretty but I didn’t think I was very effective. So it was a case of pitching the ball up a bit and bring both edges into the game. The ball I try to swing is the variation rather than the stock ball as it is in England.

“It was also how to get it reversing as soon as possible. I worked a way out where I was missing the seam, hitting one side of the ball constantly in the nets and it happened quickly for me. I’d pick an old ball out and try and get it reversing as quickly as possible.”

Mahmood flies in for the ODI series in South Africa, which starts in Cape Town on February 2. After Jofra Archer was ruled out of the T20I series with an elbow problem, Mahmood will remain with the squad for those games as well. And he is confident about finding some reverse with the white ball too, while recognising that it will take lots of work to be in the mix long-term.

“If you’re constantly getting hit out of the park and on to concrete it will reverse pretty quickly! But it depends on the wickets. I’m lucky at Old Trafford where they are quite abrasive. Reverse swing is a big factor.

“Even in white-ball cricket, the last 10 overs where a large number of runs are scored, if the ball is reversing you can bring that down. It could be the difference between winning and losing a game.

“It’s a good opportunity to go out there and get into the XI and perform. I’ve never been of a mindset of locking places, even at Lancs. It’s a chance for me to go out there and perform. I’ve had experience in T20… as a bowler I can maybe be a bit more attacking [in 50-over cricket].

“I’ve played most of my games in List A and my record would suggest it’s my best format. But skills are transferable to T20 cricket and bowling up top is transferable to red-ball as well. I feel like a bowler who takes wickets in all phases of the game. This will be another challenge and I’m looking forward to it.”

^{Mahmood made his England debut in New Zealand}

Mahmood is among the growing ranks of attacking bowlers who feel English cricket might be better served by experimenting with the red Kookaburra ball in at least some rounds of the County Championship. The introduction of a less responsive ball than the Dukes might promote the cause of genuine quick bowlers who would be options overseas on flatter pitches.

“It helps me being at Old Trafford, but if it did come across I’d look forward to it. It would bring in a different skill-set to be successful with rather than bowl a few dibbly-dobblies...

“For example I had Colly [England assistant coach Paul Collingwood] bowl to me with Dukes in New Zealand and I couldn’t hit it. Then when he had the Kookaburra it was a different ball game.

“Even if we had that in the County Championship for a couple of rounds, how would teams react? What kind of bowlers would they pick? Guys who haven’t had a look-in might start to get a look-in. Teams will have to find a way to take 20 wickets. I’d look forward to it.”

After South Africa, Mahmood will surely be spared the comatose pitches in Sri Lanka and will instead fly on to Australia to join the Lions for at least part of their four-day series – a potentially breakthrough tour for a fast bowler, given the succession planning around Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad two years out from the Ashes.

“It is a huge trip, and it’s all good doing the sort of things I’ve talked about in the nets, but actually do it in a game it stands for a lot more.

“[The next Ashes] is a long time away but if I can perform in this series I can take some confidence if I am there in two years.

“I’ve had an under-19s trip to Australia and a Lions trip but this will be a new challenge – like playing at the MCG with a pink ball. I’ve never played with a pink Kookaburra.”

A new challenge, maybe, but Mahmood seems the type to learn fast.

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