Kent Spitfires all-rounder Azhar Mahmood is looking to put one over old side, the Surrey Lions when the two sides meet in the Twenty 20 at Beckenham on Sunday afternoon.
The 37 year old has played just the one game for Kent this year having spent the first two months of the season playing for Kings XI Punjab in the Indian Premier League, but should be back amongst the side for the game against Surrey this weekend.
Set to bat at number three and open the bowling alongside Mark Davies, Mahmood is excited at the prospect of playing against the team he played for between 2002 and 2007:
“I always love playing against them, it’s my old club and since I moved from Surrey I’ve always done well against them. Hopefully I will do the same again on Sunday and we can get our first win under our belts.”
“If the weather stays fine, my family will come to the game too, although we have a two month old baby, so it’s been a bit difficult and tough for my wife, but it would be good if they can get to Beckenham to come and see me in action.”
“I’ve been enjoying my cricket for the past three or four years, I’m feeling fit and feeling strong and I know my game really well, so the IPL was another opportunity for me and I did well out there.”
“That’s done and dusted now though and now I want to concentrate on doing well for Kent in the T20 and hopefully we can go a step or two better than we did last year.”
Despite being in the middle of June, the weather has dominated a lot of talk around cricket this year with Kent suffering as much as any other county for days lost, with Mahmood hoping it doesn’t play a part again this weekend:
“I brought the sun back with me for a week to ten days and now it’s been a typical English summer. It’s been raining a lot and it’s been frustrating to lose the first T20 game to the weather, but you can’to do much about the weather.”
“It’s not in our hands, it’s the guy upstairs. The club did all they could to get the game on against Sussex, but there was too much rain and the poor groundstaff at Tunbridge Wells did all the hard yards, but unfortunately they were beaten in the end too.”
Mahmood’s experience in the IPL should stand him in good stead for the next few weeks as the Kent Spitfires aim to book their place at Finals Day, but the now England qualified all-rounder told KSN that his time in India showed him that despite being born in Pakistan, the locals made him very welcome and is hoping that fellow countrymen can now follow in his footsteps:
“Hopefully there will be an opportunity for other Pakistani players to go there and play. The IPL committee and the BCCI will be allowing a Pakistan team into the Champions League this year, so hopefully that will open the door for other Pakistan players to go there and show their talents in front of the millions of Indian fans.”
“Cricket is huge in both India and Pakistan and it’s important that sport breaks down barriers. I remember going to India in 1997 and it was a really tough tour for us, but after that India and Pakistan relations have got better and better.”
“The support I got from fans when I was over there was superb and they wanted to see Pakistan players playing in India, along with Pakistan going and playing in India.”
To watch Mahmood and the Kent Spitfires in action, get along to Beckenham on Sunday. Gates open at 1pm with play scheduled to start at 3pm. To book tickets visit www.kentcricket.co.uk
Kent’s 13 man squad to play the Surrey Lions: Rob Key, Sam Billings, Azhar Mahmood, Darren Stevens, Brendan Nash, Sam Northeast, Geraint Jones, James Tredwell, Matt Coles, Adam Ball, Mark Davies, Simon Cook, Fabian Cowdrey.