Saqib Mahmood believes he is reaping the benefits of extra training sessions with Chris Jordan in a “player-coach relationship” in the Caribbean in recent weeks.
England seem to have moved on from Jordan since their T20 World Cup semi-final exit in late June but he is the country’s leading wicket-taker in the format among fast bowlers, behind leg-spinner Adil Rashid.
The 36-year-old is active on the franchise circuit but accepted an invitation to train in his native Barbados from Mahmood, who travelled early ahead of England’s white-ball tour against West Indies.
While Mahmood was unable to hit his straps in a lone ODI appearance, he has impressed with six wickets to underpin England’s two wins at the Kensington Oval in the five-match T20 series.
“I can be a bit of a slow starter to tours,” Mahmood said. “I don’t know why, whether it’s just acclimatising. But before you know it, two or three games have gone and you haven’t got up to speed.
“I made the decision to come out early and I phoned CJ. The best thing was instead of just coming in and having a bowl was the attention to detail we had in training to how some of the guys would bat.
“It was like a player-coach relationship. He’s obviously got his own cricket to get ready for but the days I was bowling, he didn’t bowl. We’d talk about release points and all of these things.
“It definitely put me in a position where I was ready to go once that series started.”
Mahmood was eager to tap into Jordan’s variations in their unofficial union separate to any England involvement but admitted his patented slower ball is “still a work in progress”.
Barbados ✅
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Next stop - St Lucia 📍
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Nevertheless, Mahmood is convinced Jordan could easily make the transition into coaching once he has hung up his spikes.
“I remember when I first came into the England team, CJ was so good with me,” Mahmood said.
“You have some players who when they see somebody else come in, it’s almost a bit of a threat to their positions.
“But CJ was the complete opposite, he took me under his wing. In my eyes, he’s always been a model professional, probably the best I’ve seen in the game. To touch on his experience has been really handy.
“If he does go into coaching afterwards, he’s going to be an amazing coach and I actually hope he does because I think he has so much to offer.”
Mahmood was not offered an England central contract and signed a three-year white-ball deal with Lancashire although there is a pay-as-you-play clause in the County Championship.
He is not one of the 52 Englishmen who have entered into the Indian Premier League auction but appears at peace with where his career is at, having battled back from two stress fractures in his back which severely compromised his availability in 2022 and 2023.
“The thing for me is I want to be walking off the field every time I play knowing that I’m doing what I want to do with the ball,” Mahmood added.
“There is communication with (captain) Jos (Buttler) but I want to make sure that I go onto the field feeling confident in everything that I want to do. Some days it pays off, some days it doesn’t.
“At times in the past for England, especially before my injuries, sometimes I’d walk off the field and I’d be like ‘I didn’t really want to be doing that’ and I think that’s something which I’ve changed.
“It helps as you get a bit older and you know the players you’re playing against. That’s probably what experience is. You know what you’ve got to do and you’re confident enough to do that.”
