- Two stress fractures in his back forced the fast bowler out of contention
- His return has been gradual, having learned the dangers of rushing back
- Mahmood now feels ready to relaunch his first-class career for England
It is now three years since Saqib Mahmood took a call from Ben Stokes advising him what would be expected of fast bowlers during his England captaincy.
A matter of weeks earlier, Mahmood had been presented with his Test cap by Stokes in Barbados and returned from the Caribbean as one of the few England players in credit after taking half a dozen wickets at 23 runs each.
That 1-0 defeat to West Indies triggered the change in leadership from Joe Root to Stokes, but the first of two stress fractures of the back in successive years ruled the Lancastrian out of contention at the start of the 2022 summer and injuries mean he is yet to appear in the Bazball era.
Next week, he will begin making a case for inclusion against India and Australia later this year with a County Championship comeback against Leicestershire.
‘Hopefully, I can show what I can do again with that red ball, and see where it leaves me in terms of England stuff,’ Mahmood, 28, said.
‘I don’t know when that might be, because in Test cricket the seamers are going quite well at the moment: Gus Atkinson has had an unbelievable year. Brydon Carse had a great winter, Chris Woakes will be doing his thing.
Saqib Mahmood will begin making his case for inclusion against India and Australia
Two stress fractures in his back ruled him out of contention at the start of the 2022 summer
‘You’ve got a few guys in the wings too, anything can happen and I never really think about other people too much as if I’m in a place where I’m delivering what I think is near my best, I like to think I will be in the mix.’
Mahmood’s battles with his body have influenced his methodical approach to returning for what will be just a sixth first-class appearance in 36 months.
This week, he has been across the Pennines increasing his bowling loads in Lancashire’s second XI match against Leeds/Bradford University – returning figures of three for 14 from 10 first-innings overs – having learned the dangers of rushing back.
‘After my stress fracture, it still felt like I was bulletproof in a way, and I wasn’t,’ he reflects.
‘I did too much too soon, and obviously had a recurrence. So while last year was frustrating, and there was obviously a lot of Lancashire fans who probably thought I didn’t want to play, I just didn’t feel I could.
‘That was probably the right decision because I’ve been able to get a year of cricket under my belt, summer and winter, and I feel in a much better place.’
While Mahmood’s decision to sign a white-ball contract with Lancashire last autumn hinted at a future of limited-overs and franchise cricket, he was simply doing what he believed was the right thing given his chequered past in terms of fitness.
He now feels ready to relaunch his first-class career at a time when fast bowling rivals Mark Wood and Olly Stone are sidelined until August and Carse is struggling with a wound on his left pointer toe that keeps reopening.
‘Obviously, I will get stiff after a long day in the dirt, but even on game days, I get in the gym in the morning and prep so that when I get to the ground, physically I’m ready to go,’ he said.
