Mahmood resolves to make the grade

Seamer Sajid Mahmood is put through his paces during the tourists' training session in Bloemfontein this morning

Sajid Mahmood is determined to prove he is international class after being handed another chance with England in the limited-overs leg of their tour of South Africa.

The 27-year-old paceman is in line for a first appearance for his country since the 2007 World Cup, having been confined to England Lions duty since.

Mahmood, who has 29 wickets in his 25 one-day internationals, believes he is now has the consistency to hold down a place in England’s one-day side.

“I think the main reason I got sort of dropped from the international side was consistency – a lot of up and downs,” he said. “I’ve now had over two years out of the (full international) game, playing county cricket and away from the spotlight if you like.

“I could reflect on what I did and where I needed to be. The massive thing was consistency, so I’ve gone back and worked on hitting certain areas with my bowling and trying to perform a lot more consistent and just doing stuff on a regular basis.

“That’s the main things I’ve worked on and it’s sort of shown over the last couple of years that improvement.

“So hopefully I can carry on working on that and get better at it.”

South Africa were the opposition last time the 27-year-old represented England, in a humbling defeat in Barbados that confirmed England’s World Cup exit, and Mahmood is relishing the prospect of playing for his country again.

“I’ve been waiting for over two years now and to get the call-up for the tour was fantastic,” he added.

“I’ve been working really hard in them two years, trying to put things right and everything’s worked out pretty well for Lancashire. So I’m really looking forward to getting on with it.”

Mahmood, who forced his way back into England contention after a solid domestic one-day season, revealed that a change of focus over the past two years has been one of the keys to his revival.

Mahmood's last international cap came against South Africa at the 2007 World Cup when defeat confirmed elimination

“When I first started, I thought the game was quite simple. All I wanted to do was try bowling quick and I thought I’d just get wickets,” he continued.

“I think I worried too much about pace and that’s where the waywardness and inconsistency came into things. Now it’s a lot more about trying to hit an area and being more rhythmical.

“Playing this game, you’re bowling against some world-class batsmen. There’s quite a few 90 miles per hour bowlers around and batsmen are now used to that.

“So you’re going to have something different as well. You’ve got to be able to swing it or nip it around or be hitting an area on a consistent basis, putting the batters under pressure hoping they make a mistake.

“Like I said, I’ve now learned over the last couple of years that it’s not all about pace, you’ve got to do something else.”

Mahmood could feature for England as early as a week on Friday when they face the Proteas in the first of two Twenty20 internationals, and he admits that his recall could be a stepping stone for bigger things.

He added: “My main ambition is to play Test cricket for England and get back into that team. But my first task is here in the one-day squad.

“I know that if I do well here and if the chance arises then fantastic. But I think I’ve just got to perform and show what I can do in the one-day series and then take things from there.”

Mahmood made his international debut back in 2004 but he does not believe that he was thrown into international cricket too early, insisting that his initial opportunity afforded him a chance to fine tune his trade.

After struggling in his first game against New Zealand at Bristol – he ended with figures of none for 56 in seven overs – he found himself out in the cold, before his next appearance 21 months later during a trip to India.

Graeme Swann survived a minor injury scare after an elastic resistance band came loose and struck him on his right arm

A Test induction was to follow and, after impressing against Sri Lanka, he found himself playing in three Ashes Tests in Australia during the following winter.

“I actually enjoyed it (making my debut early), to be honest, because it almost showed me where I need to be to perform at that level,” he said. “To be involved in an Ashes series, away from home, in their own back yard and when they were the number one team in the world, almost gave me a benchmark as to where I need to be.

“To experience that so early in my career, I think helped me a lot. Because obviously, going back, it almost gave me chance to reflect on that and gave me a benchmark to see that I wasn’t probably mentally ready to be there.

“I wasn’t consistent enough and now I’ve gone back, worked on those things and I think I’m ready now. I think I’ve matured a lot as a bowler and as a person, so I think I’m ready.”

Meanwhile, Graeme Swann survived a minor injury scare during today’s practice session after and elastic resistance band used during training came loose and struck him on his right forearm.

After being patched up he resumed the session, going on to bowl and then bat as England’s preparations looked on track ahead of their opening warm-up game against the Diamond Eagles in Bloemfontein on Friday.