England’s mounting injury problems almos saw Saqib Mahmood picked for the Lord’s Test against India, but James Anderson passed a late fitness Test and Saqib was consigned to carrying the drinks instead. So near and yet so far.
To have one’s hopes raised then dashed is part of sport’s emotional arc, yet there are those who think it is only a matter of time before Saqib, 25, makes his Test debut.
Indeed, many feel he should make the squad for this winter’s Ashes, his pace an asset in a country that usually rewards those who break the speed limit, at least on a cricket field.
Saqib has played...