Now we know why England wanted to have a look at Saqib Mahmood in a Test match. Had Stuart Broad and James Anderson been brought on this tour, Mahmood would not have got a game and he might not even have been here. If he had, he would have been carrying the drinks, as he has done so often.
He was first taken on an England Test tour to New Zealand three years ago, but did not play. A few months later he was in the mix for a debut in Sri Lanka; Anderson was not on the tour and an injury to Mark Wood led to Mahmood being summoned. Then the pandemic struck and the tour was abandoned. He is 25 and had waited long enough.
He showed skills here on debut that are not readily found in English bowlers, even experienced ones. The first spell he produced on this final afternoon of two for 12 from five overs broke the game open for England in a way that is essential if Tests are to be won on pitches like these.
He has a reputation as an old-ball bowler who can generate reverse-swing, but he was introduced in the ninth over. He hit the pitch hard, made the ball deviate and created two chances that were both taken in the slips – and these were the first catches taken in the slip cordon in the entire match. That’s how hard the going was.
He took his first two Test wickets on Saturday but it was a delivery that did not produce a wicket that stood out from his first-innings performance, a pinpoint yorker that bowled Jermaine Blackwood, only for it to transpire that he had overstepped.
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England are desperate for bowlers who can make things happen in unpromising circumstances: this was Andrew Strauss’s argument for changing things up with the bowling unit, and he will feel vindicated by the decision to give Mahmood a chance.
Mahmood is not as fast as some of the early hype suggested — more like 85-87mph than 90mph — but has the right sort of skiddy action, as well as the right attitude, to make an impact with an old ball. He did not mind bowling full enough to be driven if it increased his chances of taking the edge. That takes bravery because you will go for runs.
Waqar Younis and Dale Steyn, two of the most successful fast bowlers in Test history, both bowled full and took a lot of wickets, but had a relatively high economy rate as well. Mahmood should aspire to be that type of bowler.
Joe Root appears well aware of what he has got in him. On the eve of the Test, the England captain said of Mahmood: “He is very mature for a guy who hasn’t played a huge amount of international cricket. He’s got a slightly different trajectory and will give us a point of difference — he has done when he’s played other formats. Clearly he has good control, especially if the ball moves with reverse-swing.”
Mahmood led the England ODI attack superbly last summer after a Covid outbreak required them to put out a replacement team.
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On the fourth evening here, relief etched on his face at getting his first Test wickets, he said: “This is the kind of day you play for, when there’s nothing going on and it’s hard work. On green seamers every seamer feels in the game, but on ones like this I want to be a guy who can stand up.”
Mahmood should be a certainty to tour Pakistan next winter for three Tests. Judging by the Australia tour there, the pitches will be every bit as hard as the Caribbean, and it is easier to see him taking wickets there than any of the other members of the seam attack on duty this past week bar Ben Stokes.
Were he to play Test cricket there it would be a special moment as his family originates from Pakistan. It is also an ambition of his to play Test cricket alongside Anderson, who has mentored him so well at Lancashire. Whether that happens remains to be seen.
