While he could still feature in some first-class cricket on a pay-as-you-play basis should his body hold up, the sense is that Mahmood is moving towards being a white-ball specialist. He has not entered the Indian Premier League auction, and says that he is yet to decide about whether to take part in the Pakistan Super League, which will be played in April next year.

The King of Barbados

In England’s squad, Mahmood has earned the nickname the ‘King of Barbados’, reflecting his relish for being on the island. Mahmood put this love to good use before the white-ball tour, spending 10 days on the island honing his game with Chris Jordan, who represented England as recently as June.

“With some of the tours in the past, I found I can be a bit of a slow starter,” Mahmood explained. “I made the decision to come out early and I phoned CJ [Chris Jordan] and he came out a few days after I got here so there was a bit of work that needed doing.

“The best thing was instead of just coming in and having a bowl was the attention to detail we had in training sessions to how some of the guys would bat. We’d imagine I was bowling at [Nicholas] Pooran or someone.

“The way we were working, it was like a player-coach relationship. He’s obviously got his own cricket to get ready for but the days I was bowling, he didn’t bowl. We’d talk about release points and all of these things.”

A slower ball up his sleeve

Mahmood hopes to continue working with Jordan, who he hopes will become a full-time coach when he retires. The two are already focused on giving Mahmood one of Jordan’s most valued tricks: a slower ball. Mahmood has yet to bowl one this series, but will finesse the delivery ahead of the Champions Trophy in Pakistan.

“I spoke to him about a slower ball before I even flew out that I wanted to work on which is just a bit of a point of difference. But that’s still a work in progress.