England seamer Saqib Mahmood has revealed he considered taking a break from red-ball cricket after a second stress fracture in as many years threatened to derail his career.
A serious back injury struck him down soon after a promising debut Test tour of the West Indies in March 2022 and hit again at the start of last summer, when the problem reoccurred just as he was hoping to put his name in the Ashes frame.
During the long and lonely months of rehabilitation he told Lancashire he planned to step away from the first-class game this season and ease himself back in as a T20 specialist.
He has since banished the idea, enthused by the arrival of new head coach Dale Benkenstein and by his own love of the longer format, and although he will miss this week’s Vitality County Championship curtain-raiser he is working towards a full comeback in the next month.
“It’s quite overwhelming to think that two years of my career have just sort of gone. I don’t want to have a third year like that,” he said.
“Initially I didn’t want to play any red ball cricket at the start of this season. At the back end of last summer I had a chat to the guys here because I was nervous about my body.
“I was asking for a little bit of empathy from the guys. I just want to be on the park contributing, not on the sides. I don’t want to be chasing Test cricket at the start of the season, breaking down and then not be any good to anyone. I want to do it properly.
“We left it as a question mark and when Benky (Benkenstein) came in he sort of filled me with that excitement again – a new coach telling me how important I was.
“So you have more chats and you try to find a way of doing it in as safe a way as possible. I’ve gone from not wanting to play it this year to trying to get ready for it.”
While Lancashire certainly took Mahmood’s concerns seriously, those even closer to him were more sceptical that he would be able to commit exclusively to the limitations of the limited-overs game.
“My brother told me ‘I knew you’d never do that. No way would you would sit on the side watching the guys play’. That’s not who I am,” he admitted.
“I still watch Test cricket more than I watch white-ball cricket, I still focus on it. As soon as I’ve got a red ball in hand I really love the things that come with it: trying to work batters out, the craft of bowling, things I pride myself on.
“Even the short experience I had in Test cricket, I didn’t want to give that up. It might feel like I’ve put a tick in the box by playing Test cricket but I feel I’ve got more to give in that format.
“My mindset is just to be fit. If I stay fit and do the right things I like to think the England stuff should take care of itself. Last year I was really trying to push myself to get ready for the Ashes and in the end I did too much, too soon by trying to look for something that wasn’t quite there.
“I don’t expect to be bowling at 90mph tomorrow, ready to play in an England shirt, it’s a process.
Hopefully by the time I start I’ll peak at the right time.”
West Indies trump Pakistan in thrilling final-over finish to take unassailable 3-0 lead
A stunning death-overs implosion from Pakistan amidst more all-round heroics from Hayley Matthews helped West Indies take an unassailable 3-0 series lead over Pakistan in the T20I series at the Karachi National Stadium on Tuesday.
Another commanding half-century from Matthews - 68 off 49 balls - guided West Indies to the series' highest total of 132 - but Pakistan were cruising at 115 for 2, spearheaded by Sidra Ameen's 63 off 58, needing 18 off the last 23 balls.
Matthews then took two wickets in as many deliveries to kickstart a stunning collapse and Pakistan lost six wickets for 10 runs in 20 deliveries. The hosts fell apart spectacularly, with West Indies sneaking home by two runs.
Pakistan won the toss and put West Indies in to bat. Fatima Sana struck early to remove Rashada Williams, but the hosts ran into the familiar brilliance of Matthews and couldn't find a way to stem the dazzling stroke making that followed. The best they could do was work around her, and although taking wickets was a problem, Pakistan's success in keeping one end relatively quiet ensured West Indies did not get up to the 150 mark, something Matthews said the side had been aiming for.
Once Tuba Hassan managed the wicket of Matthews in the 16th over, the hosts wrested momentum back. Shemaine Campbelle edged one off Nida Dar to the keeper in the following over, and Pakistan ground the visitors down. The last six overs saw just 30 runs scored on a wicket that looked good enough to offer more, and at the halfway mark, Pakistan had the momentum.
They rode on that momentum in the second innings with a blistering opening partnership dominated by Ameen. Five boundaries in the first four overs, all struck by Ameen, saw Pakistan gallop to 39, instantly reducing the target to below a run a ball. West Indies found ways to stop the bleeding, but Pakistan never really fell behind the asking rate, ensuring they had wickets in hand and never got bogged down for too long.
A pair of tight overs from Afy Fletcher saw Ayesha Zafar hole out trying to go over long-on, but Ameen once more eased the pressure with a big 13th over, taking 11 off it and bringing up a 42-ball half-century. Pakistan appeared to have timed their push perfectly when Ameen and Dar targeted Karishma Ramharack's 16th over, plundering 13 and bringing the equation down to 20 needed in four remaining overs, with eight wickets still in hand.
But having not won a game all series and fallen short by narrow margins a couple of times, the psychological scarring was palpable, and it made its presence felt in a frenzied final half hour. Aaliyah Alleyne cleaned up Nida Dar in the 17th over to keep West Indies alive, but Pakistani panic properly set in when Ameen missed an expansive inside out drive and Matthews knocked back the top of off. The next ball saw Fatima Sana spoon one to short cover-point, and two more wickets fell in the following over, including a needless run out that revealed the nerves that had clouded the hosts' thoughts.
The three overs before the final one saw just eight runs scored, meaning another 12 were required in the final one. The hosts never looked like getting there, and by the time the final ball was helped away for a boundary, the game, and the series, was already beyond Pakistan.
West Indies women 132 for 5 (Matthews 68, Campbelle 31, Sana 2-22) beat Pakistan women 130 for 8 (Ameen 63, Fletcher 2-20, Matthews 2-22) by two runs
Pant selected for India's T20 World Cup squad after car-crash recovery
Rishabh Pant will hope to lead India to T20 World Cup glory after being selected in their squad, just over a year after undergoing surgery following a concerning car crash.
Wicketkeeper-batter Pant was involved in a near-fatal car collision in northern India in December 2022 but comes back into the international fold just 16 months after the incident.
The 26-year-old's performances in this season's Indian Premier League have secured his place in the 15-man squad, having scored 398 runs in 11 innings at a strike rate of 158.6 for the Delhi Capitals.
Pant is one of two wicketkeepers named in the squad for the tournament starting on June 1 in the United States and West Indies, alongside Sanju Samson.
Despite not previously featuring in a World Cup squad, Samson has impressed in the IPL after accumulating 385 runs in nine innings, striking at a rate of 161.1 for the league-leading Rajasthan Royals.
India captain Rohit Sharma and vice-captain Hardik Pandya will lead the side in the United States and West Indies, though Pant and Samson's inclusion leaves no place for KL Rahul or Jitesh Sharma.
Yuzvendra Chahal did not feature in either T20I squad in the recent series against South Africa and Afghanistan but was another India star included based on their IPL showings this year.
Leg-spinner Chahal, who will be joined by Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel in the spin-bowling department, has 13 wickets at an average of 23.5 for the Royals this term.
Jasprit Bumrah heads the pace-bowling lineup with Mohammed Siraj and Arshdeep Singh, while Hardik and Shivam Dube present all-rounder options with the ball.
Dube offers a decisive alternative with the bat, too, having top-scored with 124 runs across three innings in the home series against Afghanistan in January.
At the top of the order, Yashasvi Jaiswal will likely open alongside captain Rohit, with Virat Kohli and Suryakumar Yadav providing some high-class backup lower down.
India face Ireland in New York on June 5 to start their World Cup campaign before meeting rivals Pakistan, USA and Canada.
India's provisional squad:
Rohit Sharma (captain), Hardik Pandya, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Sanju Samson, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj.
McKenzie hits two fifties to lead Kingston CC to first JCA Senior Cup title since 2001
West Indies batsman Kirk McKenzie was the catalyst as Kingston Cricket Club won their first Jamaica Cricket Association (JCA) Senior Cup title since 2001 at Sabina Park over the weekend.
Kingston took first strike after opponents, the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF), won the toss and elected to field first on day one on Saturday.
McKenzie led the way with a 127-ball 83 including 10 fours and five sixes as Kingston were bowled out for 251 in their first innings.
He was well supported by Jamaica Scorpions players Brad Barnes and Romaine Morris who made 57 and 44, respectively.
Tevin Gilzene, who represented the Jamaica Scorpions in the 2023 West Indies Championship, led the way for the soldiers with 5-60 from 18.5 overs while Andrae Dennis, who made his first-class debut in the final round of the recently concluded West Indies Championship, took 3-33 off nine overs in support.
Pacers Andre Bailey and Odean Smith then combined for six wickets to help reduce JDF to 185 all out in their first innings.
Bailey took 3-41from 11 overs while Smith took 3-43 from 12.
Andre Fowler led the way for JDF with a patient 108-ball 43 at the top of the order.
Kingston were 219-8 in their second innings on day two when play was called to an end.
McKenzie followed up his first innings exploits with 84 off 114 balls including 10 fours and four sixes while Smith made 45 off 27 balls including seven fours and two sixes.
Scorpions pacer Gordon Bryan took 5-28 for JDF in the second innings.
With the win, Kingston CC took home a prize of $750,00 while JDF pocketed $500,000. Patrick Harty Jr was named tournament MVP and was also the leading wicket-taker while Melbourne Cricket Club’s Javelle Glenn was the tournament’s top run scorer.
Full scores: Kingston CC 251 (Kirk McKenzie 83, Brad Barnes 57, Romaine Morris 44, Tevin Gilzene 5-60, Andrae Dennis 3-33) & 219-8 (Kirk McKenzie 84, Odean Smith 45, Gordon Bryan 5-28)
JDF 185 (Andre Fowler 43, Andre Bailey 3-41, Odean Smith 3-43)
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