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PakPassion.net is proud to present an exclusive interview with Saj Mahmood where he talks about his development as a cricketer, his rise to make it to the England team, his admiration of some of the cricketing legends who have inspired him and his future.
Our heartfelt thanks go out to Saj Mahmood for speaking with us and many thanks to our own Saj for making this possible, with SOSAMI weighing in to transcribe the audio.
Our heartfelt thanks go out to Saj Mahmood for speaking with us and many thanks to our own Saj for making this possible, with SOSAMI weighing in to transcribe the audio.
PakPassion.Net: Was cricket always your first choice as a profession, growing up as a kid?
Saj Mahmood: Yes, I’d say so. My dad used to play in the Bolton Leagues and I used to go watch him every weekend or whenever he used to train, just for something to do. He'd also take me along and I used to quite enjoy playing around in the field with other kids and that's how I got into cricket. I played some league cricket and it just sort of grew from there. I also played a little bit of football but that never really caught my interest as much as cricket did and it was one of the main sports I wanted to get into.
PakPassion.Net: Growing up a lot of us have fast bowlers as role models and heroes. Growing up as a youngster in Lancashire, who was you role model as a cricketer?
Saj Mahmood: I liked Wasim Akram and Imran Khan and they were really good to watch when I was young. I quite enjoyed watching Curtly Ambrose and Courtney Walsh as a pair, just to see how they bowled. Both were really relaxed and you didn’t know they could bowl that quick because they were so laid back but when they let the ball go, they were bowling at a really good speed so I really enjoyed watching them. They inspired me, especially when 19 or 20 when I started to up my pace and I looked to their actions to see what they were doing differently to anyone else.
PakPassion.Net: When did you realise that you were a genuine fast bowler?
Saj Mahmood: I realised it pretty late - when I was 19 or 20. Before that, I used to play Lancashire U19s and I never really used to bowl that quick, averaging around the low to mid 70s. I used to bat quite a bit and opened the batting and bowling for the Lancashire U-19s.
When I was 19 or 20, I started to bowl quickly and the ball was coming out of my hand really well. Lancashire took a keen interest and signed me for a scholarship for the first year. I did a bit of work with Mike Watkinson and the coaching staff at Lancashire just to help fine-tune my bowling action. I was bowling with a lot more pace, clocking in the mid 80s, and got better and better. It was also because I got used to my action a bit more during my professional career.
PakPassion.Net: How were you picked up by Lancashire? Did a scout come and pick you or did you go for trials?
Saj Mahmood: I went for some trials when I was younger, around 14-15 but I never used to get in. I still liked playing cricket so I wasn’t going to stop because I didn't get picked for Lancashire. I carried on playing in the Bolton League enjoying my cricket; I was doing pretty well and was playing first team when I was about 16-17. At the time, Mike Watkinson the Lancashire coach was also playing in the Bolton League and I caught his eye.
From there, I went to the U-17s trials but I didn't get in originally. There was a boy who got injured and they asked me to come and play and most likely I won’t be playing in any of the games so I said “yes, that’s fine”. I went down there, played a game and I must have done pretty well. I took three or four wickets and made 50-odd with the bat. From there onwards, I opened the batting and bowling for Lancashire and finished the season off really well. It all grew from there.
I played as part of the Lancashire U-19s for a couple of years and then during a one-year scholarship was when I made my debut for Lancashire. I was 19 and they were a bowler short in the first team so they asked me if I wanted to play. Your not going to turn that down. I played in that game and I did ok and secured a contract with Lancashire for a year and I haven't looked back since.
PakPassion.Net: Ever thought that you had gone into the wrong profession - looking at Amir Khan and the glamour and riches he's earning in boxing?
Saj Mahmood: (Laughs)Not really, no. I enjoy playing cricket and it’s something I've grown up with.
Obviously the money and the glamour isn't the same as boxing, but the money has improved quite a lot in cricket and I’m living pretty comfortably now so I’m happy with what I’ve got and what I’m doing now. It’s a great job what I do – sometimes you can take it for granted but you train for about three or four hours a day and it’s something you enjoy doing. Its one thing that it’s something you enjoy doing, but secondly it’s something that keeps you fit. There’s a lot of perks too, you get to do a lot of thing which normal people with normal jobs don’t get to do.
Sometimes you do take it for granted, I’m really happy with the position I’m in at the moment so I’ve never really thought I’ve chosen the wrong profession, whether I wanted to be a boxer or a footballer. I’m grateful for what I’ve got to be honest.
PakPassion.Net: You recently took part in the Aussie Big Bash - a high profile Twenty20 tournament. Tell us a bit about your experience and what you learnt from that experience.
Saj Mahmood: I went there after our season finishes in September [2010] and I went there in December [2010], so I had three or so months in England before I went out there. I trained a lot indoors on half-runs and as I can’t bowl indoors because the surfaces are a little bit different and your shins get a little bit sore. I went out there a week and a half earlier just to see if I could get some bowling and I really enjoyed it.
It was a great competition to go to, just to see how they play their cricket. Their standards are also higher because they have only six teams in the tournament, which means that the international players are spread out within those teams where as in the English domestic Twenty20 international players are spread across 18 teams. You pick up on things, they have different tactics for different situations during a game and I've talked to Peter Moores about it to see what he can do to incorporate that in to our domestic Twenty20 tournament, so I’m looking forward to putting them into place.
PakPassion.Net: When England are playing against Pakistan, what's the situation like in the Mahmood household? Who supports England and who supports Pakistan? Who do your affiliations lie with?
Saj Mahmood: When I played in 2006 I think there was a lot of media hype about me and my family being from Pakistan and the support in the house being divided. There was general chit-chat within the family and they said “if you do well, we’re happy”. There's no definite divide in the family about who's supporting who.
I’ll admit, as kid I used to love watching Pakistan play. They played interesting cricket and there was always something going on when Pakistan play and India play, those sorts of teams. I still love watching them now, so just to go there and play against them was a fantastic experience for me. I was getting a lot of heckling from the Headingley crowd, but that was always going to happen since the Pakistan crowd is very passionate and my parents being from Pakistan means that I still have a lot to do with Pakistan and there was always going to be a lot of that. It got a little bit messy at Headingley, with the crowd and it’s just one of those things, you get that in sport.
I am sure if any of the guys heckling at Headingley were given the opportunity to represent England against Pakistan, I can’t see them turning it down either. At the end of the day, cricket is my profession, my job, something I have to do so it’s just one of those things.
PakPassion.Net: I was at Headingley that day but I can assure you I wasn’t one of those people heckling you. That heckling seemed to fire you up though; it was an inspired spell of bowling from yourself that day.
Saj Mahmood: Definitely. Sometimes the crowd can work more for you. That particular day they probably got under my skin a little bit and I’m thinking ‘it’s only my job here; I’m not doing it because I hate Pakistan’. I love Pakistan - I’ve been there seven or eight times so it’s nothing like that. Sometimes the people, the Pakistan fans, are so passionate they forget about that sort of stuff and that particular day I think they got under my skin a little bit.
The flip side of that was it made me focus a bit more and I ended up thinking ‘I’ll show them what I can do’, trying to shut them up a little bit. The ball came out pretty nicely and I took four wickets and won the game that day so it’s a pretty good balance really.
PakPassion.Net: You’re a Lancastrian at heart and your base is in Lancashire, but have you ever thought about moving counties? Has there ever been a situation during your career where you thought you need a change of scenery and maybe move to a different county?
Saj Mahmood: I probably did think about it early in my career when I was in and out of the first team a little bit for the first couple of seasons as I always thought I was good enough to play on a regular basis. I didn’t really speak to anyone - I thought it through and spoke to my family and dad regarding moving clubs. It’s a massive move and a big step to take given Lancashire are one of the biggest clubs in the country and there’s a lot of history there.
It’s a brilliant set up at Lancashire so I weighed things up and thought if I can stay at Lancashire, I’d stay at Lancashire. I was still young, maybe around 22 – 23 years old when I was thinking about it and I still had a long career, or I was hoping I would still have a long career, and I thought if I stayed here, my family is here, I’m used to this area and being around with family I would be a lot happier and when you’re happy you’re able to perform a lot better.
I weighed that up and thought it would be best to just stay here and to be fair I’ve been pretty happy with the decision - I’ve never really looked back on that.
PakPassion.Net: Duncan Fletcher pushed for your selection and rated you highly. Just some thoughts on Duncan and the work you did with him?
Saj Mahmood: I think he’s a fantastic coach, I really respected him and I enjoyed playing under Duncan. Just the belief he had in his players - he never gave any negative energy or anything like that. He’s always had belief in himself and what he could do as well and he also had a lot to give to the team - different coaching aspects or trying different things in your game to help improve your game. He’s very well respected and he’s gone on now and done bits and bobs with different countries, batting coaching and things like that. He’s also done a bit of county work and it was a privilege to play under him.
PakPassion.Net: Yorkshire seem to be unearthing a lot of Asian cricketers from the Bradford and surrounding areas. Lancashire, Manchester, Oldham, Rochdale also have very big Asian communities. Are there any young Asian cricketers coming through the Lancashire ranks?
Saj Mahmood: I’m not really that sure to be honest. I think there’s a guy called Mohammad Abid. He’s a legspinner. I believe he’s at the academy on a scholarship and although I’ve only seen him bowl once, I’ve heard he bowls pretty well in the nets. I know that the Lancashire lads rate him quite highly so I think he’s one to watch out for.
I’m not really sure about anyone else to be honest - there have got to be a few out there, whether they’re playing cricket in the leagues pushing on trying to get into the professional side of things, or going for trials, I’m not sure if they are doing that. I’d say to young lads and girls, if they think they are good enough and are really enjoying it they should have a word with their parents. That’s what I did when I was younger, I said I want to focus on cricket and I want you to support me. I didn’t really need to ask for that – they supported me straight away.
If there are youngsters out there who they think they’re good enough, they should have a word with their parents and try to get in for some trials at Lancashire. The worst thing that can happen is that they can say no but I believe if you want something in life and you work hard enough you will get it.
PakPassion.Net: Do you think it’s harder for young Asian cricketers to get noticed by counties or do you think it’s equal for everybody?
Saj Mahmood: I don’t think it is now to be honest with you, maybe 15 -20 years ago when there were not that many Asian professional cricketers or Asian people in sport at all to be honest, whereas now there are a lot more Asian people playing cricket, my cousin Amir [Khan] boxing and there are a couple of footballers.
There are a lot more Asians coming out and doing well in the sporting profession and I think that gives, mainly to the parents, some direction and shows the parents that the young lads and girls are achieving things in sport and it’s probably not as bad as it was 15 -20 years ago where a lot the time when they didn’t get in, they probably used racism as an excuse, but now seeing all these Asian people in sport probably gives the parents a little bit more confidence in supporting them down that route. Rather than saying to their kids that we don’t really want you to go down that route, we want you to go to university and get a degree or whatever it may be, law or medicine or whatever it is, it gives them a lot more confidence to support them in that profession and the sporting side of things.
PakPassion.Net: There will be a lot of guys reading this interview who want to become a fast bowler like yourself. What cricketing or technical advice would you give to those who have such ambitions?
Saj Mahmood: I’m not too sure about technical advice, because every fast bowler is different but if you have a pretty strong action and I think the run-up is quite crucial to myself – I’m a very rhythmical bowler so I don’t really charge in and use all my upper body strength. There are some bowlers who use that, you have Shoaib Akhtar who charges in who uses his upper body strength.
If you want to be a fast bowler, strength-test ability is very crucial and I think you’ve got to have strong legs, glutes and upper body. Like I said before, if you work hard at things and you have some good people working with you, a lot of the time fast bowlers have got raw potential so you can see they are going to be fast straight away and after that it’s just fine tuning technically a lot of the times.
If you are raw, just get down to some clubs and have a word with some coaches and hear what the coaches think, whether it be fine tuning of the technique or whatever it may be. It may be some lab work and getting more out of that - just have a word with one of the coaches and see how they can improve at getting a bit quicker I think is the best way to go.
PakPassion.Net: Looking at the future, you obviously still have ambitions of playing for England and continue playing for Lancashire as well – your thoughts, hopes and ambitions for the future?
Saj Mahmood: Obviously my main ambition is to play for England, but it’s not just to play for England, it’s to get in there and cement my place so when the selectors try to pick a team on any given match day my name is one of the first to go down there. I’ve been in the side and out a few times and I don’t really enjoy going in and out of sides because it disrupts your rhythm in the games. You never know if you’re going to play the next game so that’s my main ambition to get in there, but there are some steps you have to take to get there first.
My priority at the moment is to do well for Lancashire. We have a big season this year, I’m hoping to get a few wickets, I got some runs last year and hopefully if I can build on that this year it will be a really good thing. The fielding side of things have gone pretty well as well so I’ll carry on working hard and hopefully things will go nicely.
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