Saqib Mahmood's Test aspirations remain strong despite Lancashire white-ball contract

Saqib Mahmood remains determined to achieve his goal of playing Test cricket for England, even after signing a three-year white-ball contract with Lancashire.

Mahmood, 27, made two Test appearances in the Caribbean in March 2022, claiming six wickets at 22.83, but has been beset by injury in recent seasons, including consecutive stress fractures of the back in 2022 and 2023.

He has not played a first-class match for Lancashire since a wicketless display against Durham in May, but returned to the England set-up in last month's T20I series against Australia, having confirmed he was back to his best with a matchwinning haul of 3 for 17 for Oval Invincibles against Southern Brave in the Men's Hundred final in August.

Mahmood played nine Vitality Blast matches for Lancashire this summer, taking 12 wickets in their progression to the quarter-finals, and will continue his international comeback next week after being named for England's white-ball tour of the Caribbean.

While his three-year deal includes "options" to appear in the County Championship, schedule and fitness permitting, and thereby stake a claim for an England Test recall, Lancashire's priority is to manage Mahmood's availability around their full Blast schedule, with the likelihood that he will be in demand for franchise competitions that overlap with the English season.

"In the ever-changing landscape of cricket, this contract allows greater control over Saqib's availability during the Vitality Blast blocks in the summer," Mark Chilton, Lancashire's director of cricket performance, said. "This is something we will work closely with Saqib on, particularly around his franchise commitments, which may include the PSL in the early part of next season.

"Following a tough few years for Saqib, with two stress fractures of the back, it was great to see him back on the park this summer performing for us in the Vitality Blast before earning a well-deserved England recall."

Mahmood, who is a product of Lancashire's academy, joined the club in 2012, aged 15, before making his senior debut in 2015 and being awarded his county cap in 2021.

"I am delighted to commit my future to Lancashire in the Vitality Blast for at least the next three seasons," he said.

"2022 and 2023 were both difficult years for me injury-wise, but it was brilliant to get through this summer fully fit. I'd like to thank the medical team at Lancashire for their hard work throughout this period and having their continued support was a key factor in signing this new contract.

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"While this is a white-ball contract, I still have an ambition to play red-ball cricket for England again and for Lancashire in the County Championship, which is still the biggest test of skill and fitness outside of Test match cricket, and there are options within this contract for that to happen."

While Mahmood's deal does not preclude him from forming part of the "stable" of fast bowlers that Brendon McCullum, England's head coach, has said he wants to be able to call upon ahead of next year's Ashes tour, it represents a potential retreat from availability, with his previous injury issues meaning that a future on the T20 franchise circuit might be a prudent option for his longevity, not to mention a lucrative one.

Speaking in Multan earlier this week, Richard Gould, the ECB chief executive, acknowledged that the encroachment of such tournaments on the English season was a challenge to the county game that will require a coherent response going forward. He cited concerns raised by Daniel Gidney, Lancashire's CEO, that county contracts risked becoming "diluted" unless the board took a more robust approach to the issuing of No-Objection Certificates (NOCs) for overseas tournaments.

"We are certainly hearing from our clubs and our members that we need to control things a little bit," Gould said.

"Last year there were 74 English players, men, that played in franchise tournaments around the world. The next best was Pakistan with 45. It's great that we've got them out there playing but we have to protect what we've got.

"I do think there will be added protections that come in. We're having discussions, I saw that Lancashire made some comments a couple of weeks ago. We have to be proud of what we've got and protect it."