Last Updated on 4 months by Charbel Coorey
In an interview with CricBlog, England bowler Saqib Mahmood spoke of his performance in The Hundred Final. He bowled a magnificent spell, finishing with 3/17 to lead Oval Invincibles to the title. He won player of the match.
Mahmood also spoke of his road to recovery after stress fractures in his back kept him out of action for an extended period of time. He also touched on his goal of returning to the England side.
Here is the full audio of the interview, and you can catch some of the quotes below.
Highlights from Saqib Mahmood interview
You’ve kept a low profile over the last year or two due to your [back stress fracture] injuries. Has it been nice to get your name out there again?
Saqib Mahmood: “Coming into the Hundred, everyone has their own goal and the team goal. The team goal obviously is to win it. But for my personal goals… at the end of the day, cricket is a team sport full of individuals. I wanted to put in performances to knock on the England door again. That was my intention coming into the tournament.”
“I missed out in the middle [of the tournament]. I got dropped because of the balance of the team. It was frustrating because I was bowling well, but I have a lot of respect for Tom Moody. The reason made sense, but I was the fall guy for that.”
“To be honest, I thought my tournament was over especially with the way the guys were going. I tried to keep myself going and keep myself ready in case a chance came, which it did. When I came back, I wanted to prove a point a little bit. Real happy how it went in the final particularly.”
Talk through the spell in the final… 3 wickets in 7 balls getting the ball to reverse at speed. What was your thought going into the final set of 5?
Saqib Mahmood: “Take it back to when I got the new ball, I really wanted to take a wicket or two up top, especially Vincey [James Vince]. Vincey was the leading run-scorer by a long way in the Hundred this season. I really wanted to get him out and leave my mark at the top.”
“There were a few plays and misses, and I couldn’t quite get the wicket, so I was itching to come back and leave my mark in the game.”
“Decided to go a bit fuller. As soon as I saw the ball reverse which got [Leus] du Plooy out… As a bowler, you see movement like that, and it gives you an extra 10%. After that, that was as hard as I’ve run in all season. The adrenaline was going, few play and misses, and felt right on top of Kieron Pollard at the time.”
“The captain [Sam Billings] and coach [Moody] spoke and said we needed to get the wicket of Pollard. ‘Moods’ [Tom Moody] basically said I was the one most likely to get him out. I said ‘I fancy my matchup here’ so we went with that… and to get him out first ball after having that discussion [in the timeout] was a great feeling. I pointed straight over to the dugout.”
Lancashire is your prime base, but talk to us about your relationship with Oval Invincibles. Maybe you might end up at Surrey one day?
Saqib Mahmood: “I really enjoyed my time here. The stadium is unbelievable, the crowd is amazing, just building relationships with all the workers here. It’s been real nice, it definitely feels like home away from home.”
On a future with Surrey… “I don’t want to fuel those rumours. I’m very happy at Lancashire. Lancashire have been really good to me. They’ve looked after me really well after my stress fractures as well. It’s my boyhood club. It’s my tenth season as a pro at the club and hopefully there’s another ten years there. As much as I enjoy The Oval, Lancashire is my home.”
Is your short term goal to break into the red-ball side with Lancs?
Saqib Mahmood: “I wouldn’t say break into the red-ball side. I think what I can do is good enough, it’s just about managing my workloads. It’s about being smart with that.”
“For me, at the moment, white-ball cricket is just ahead of red-ball cricket for me because of what’s happened over the past couple of years with the body. It’s not saying I’m giving up on red-ball cricket or anything like that… it’s more just I have to prioritise white-ball cricket at the moment.
Is the series against Australia in September a target for you?
Saqib Mahmood: “As cricketers and athletes, it’s important to have targets which give you that extra bit of motivation. My individual target coming into The Hundred was to do well and try get back in an England shirt. If it happens, great. If it doesn’t, that’s the game and there will be plenty of opportunities to get back in the side in different ways. The main thing for me is that I’m playing cricket.”
