{
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    "title": "England's Saqib Mahmood Glad Of 'Out Of The Blue' Call-Up",
    "lang": "en",
    "series": "463",
    "cup_year": "2021",
    "article_type": "General",
    "excerpt": "Saqib Mahmood reflected on an \"out of the blue\" England recall after a whirlwind 48 hours for the Lancashire quick ended with him named player of the match following an emphatic victory over Pakistan ",
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    "editor1": "<p>Saqib Mahmood reflected on an &quot;out of the blue&quot; England recall after a whirlwind 48 hours for the Lancashire quick ended with him named player of the match following an emphatic victory over Pakistan in the first one-day international in Cardiff on Thursday.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Mahmood had not played international cricket since September last year but, after a coronavirus outbreak forced England into hastily naming an entirely new squad for the three-match series with Pakistan, he responded with an ODI best 4-42 in a commanding nine-wicket win.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>The 24-year-old enjoyed a fairytale start, removing Imam-ul-Haq lbw with the first ball of the game and, two deliveries later, dismissing Pakistan captain and star batsman Babar Azam for another duck.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Pakistan never recovered and were bowled out for just 141 with more than 14 overs to spare in their innings.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>England&#39;s &#39;C team&#39; then cruised to victory on the back of unbeaten fifties from Dawid Malan and Zak Crawley -- one of five players in the 50-over world champions&#39; makeshift team making an ODI debut.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>&quot;I got the call on Tuesday, it was completely out of the blue,&quot; Mahmood told reporters. &quot;I woke up with a missed call off Spoons (England head coach Chris Silverwood) and a message saying, &#39;text me when you see this&#39;.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>&quot;I started the morning in Manchester and ended up in Cardiff. I guess the fact it all happened so quickly and there was less time to train was better than obsessing over your skills a little bit.&quot;<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Stand-in captain Ben Stokes, himself rushed back from a finger operation to lead the side, had urged one of the more unlikely England teams of recent times to believe in their own ability -- a point that resonated strongly with Mahmood.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>&quot;The message we&#39;ve had was something Stokesy reiterated last night after training, that, yes, it is weird circumstances but at this given time everyone here deserves their place,&quot; Mahmood said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>&quot;Everyone here is the best player for the position they&#39;re in. I always thrive in whatever team I play for when I&#39;ve got that extra responsibility. Speaking to Stokesy, I knew he wanted me to take the new ball and when we were out there, he brought me on when we needed wickets. I&#39;m just glad I was able to back it up and make the most of that responsibility.&quot;<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Although the most experienced member of England&#39;s team, World Cup-winner Stokes gave himself just the one over and didn&#39;t bat.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>But the star all-rounder warned: &quot;Something like today is a massive boost, but we do need to keep in mind that we weren&#39;t put under any pressure and I&#39;ve got no doubt that we will at some point.&quot;<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Pakistan came into this match having had to make do with a rain-marred intra-squad game, rather than proper tour fixtures.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Azam, speaking ahead of Saturday&#39;s second ODI at Lord&#39;s, said: &quot;We lost early wickets and that&#39;s why we didn&#39;t go to a big total but credit to the England bowlers. We are looking forward to Lord&#39;s and we&#39;ll try our level best.&quot;<br \/>\r\n&nbsp;<\/p>\r\n",
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    "created": "2021-07-09 10:28:50",
    "updated": "2021-07-09 10:29:21",
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