Saqib Mahmood: England quick on his heroes and responsibility to young British Asian cricketers

One of England's strangest ever Twenty20 victories was reflected by Saqib Mahmood.

West Indies needed 30 off the final over to win the second T20 in Barbados on Sunday, and that's when Mahmood was called to bowl.

Akeal Hosein hit three sixes off the last three balls as the tourists won a match they otherwise dominated by only one run to level the series.

He says he stayed calm during the crazy finish.

He tells the radio station it was all good.

The job was done in the first three balls when they only scored 10 and after that it was just a case of not giving away any extras.

He struck three good balls but they were never going to win.

England's development is more important than a series win in this tour, according to captain Eoin Morgan, and the final over is a crucial learning experience.

"Saqib will learn a lot from that, he will be thinking about things he can improve on," said all-rounder Moeen Ali.

You have to go through this to get better because he has so much talent.

His talent is obvious.

England have kept an eye on him since he was a teenager and he is now a regular in the international set-up.

His skill in swinging the new ball and exploiting reverse swing has landed him T20 franchise contracts in Pakistan and Australia.

In the first 11 deliveries of his Big Bash League debut, Mahmood took four of his five victims.

If he can emulate his heroes, he will be a star.

The two quicks that I remember watching when I was young were Shoaib Akhtar and Brett Lee.

They would bowl close to 100mph and I loved watching them.

It was in 2005 that I really got a love for the game and I remember Lee was playing, but I also loved watching Simon Jones and Andrew flintoff.

After that, I wanted to get a ball in my hand and try and do what they were doing, instead of just watching and playing.

The dismissal of Michael Clarke, when the Australian left a ball that knocked over his off-stump, is a favourite.

I would tap my head whenever I got a wicket in the back garden, as that was the Jones celebration in that series.

He made his England debut in a T20 against New Zealand.

A few months later, the England and Wales Cricket Board awarded Mahmood a pace bowling development contract as part of a new initiative to manage promising young fast bowlers.

He made his one-day international debut against South Africa in 2020, but it was his performances at home against Pakistan last summer that showed he was a world-class talent.

England completed a clean sweep of the three-game series with the help of nine-year-old Mahmood.

After coming close to making his debut in the summer, he wants to make his Test debut soon.

The friendship between James Anderson and Mahmood is valuable.

He says he can always message him if he needs help.

There is no one better to have than Jimmy with that sort of stuff.

Following in the footsteps of England team-mates Adil and Moeen, Mahmood is the face of a new generation of British Asian cricketers.

He acknowledges that he has a responsibility to the next generation, even though he doesn't see himself as an inspiration.

He wants to be a good professional if he can play a part in young British Asian boys and girls wanting to play cricket in the future.

Hopefully that will encourage more people to take on the game in the future.

The revelation of Azeem Rafiq's experiences of racism at Yorkshire and the wider discussion around equality and diversity that has followed can signal the start of a brighter chapter for English cricket.

For Asians and ethnic minorities growing up, we should give them the confidence that things are over and they can move on.

More people will point out racism if they see it.

A lot of guys in this squad would call people up if there was any sort of racism going on, without me having to say anything. That is the way it should be.