Saqib Mahmood relishing England experience after trying on kit provides unique buzz

NICK FRIEND AT THE HUNDRED DRAFT: The seamer was the star of the Royal London One Day Cup at the beginning of the summer, taking 28 wickets in just 10 games as his side reached the semi-finals before losing to Hampshire

As Saqib Mahmood flies out to New Zealand to join up with his new England teammates, he admits the feeling has not fully sunk in.

Mahmood has been picked alongside Lancashire teammate Matt Parkinson in the squad for the five-match T20 series, as well as the two Tests that will follow the white-ball part of the tour.

The seamer was the star of the Royal London One Day Cup at the beginning of the summer, taking 28 wickets in just 10 games as his side reached the semi-finals before losing to Hampshire. Even in that encounter, Mahmood initially reduced James Vince’s side to 23 for three.

Speaking at the draft for The Hundred, he reflected on the moment that a surreal maiden call-up to the senior side began to become a reality in his mind.

“From Under-19s, I’ve always had the kit and it’s the same kit that the first team use,” he said. “But this time, when I was trying it on yesterday, my brother came into the room and said: ‘Wow, it’s actually happening.’

“I was like: ‘Oh my God, it is’, which was a little different to usually just trying the kit on. It’s a different feeling.”

Having enjoyed a successful campaign both from a personal perspective and as a Lancashire team, he insisted there could be no better time for him to throw himself into international cricket.

^{Saqib Mahmood enjoyed a fine season with Lancashire}

“I’m in a good space; I feel fit, I feel strong,” he added. “Bowling is coming out well so I’m in a good headspace, good physically, so looking forward to getting out and training.

“[I’m} just preparing the same way as you usually would. It’s a weird feeling – it hasn’t quite sunk in so, for me, it’s about preparing for another tour.”

Mahmood’s fate ahead of next year’s inaugural edition of The Hundred had already been sealed, with he and Parkinson signing deals as ‘local icon’ players with Manchester Originals.

However, faced with the choice of representing his home franchise in the new competition or taking part in England’s summer Test series against Pakistan, he insisted that it was a no-brainer.

“If it meant I was playing Test cricket, 100 percent I’d be playing Test cricket,” he stressed. “It’s a dream of mine to play for England and any opportunity I get, it will be at the top of my list.”