Saqib Mahmood will not travel to Dublin next week. The 28-year-old fast bowler needs minor surgery on a troublesome right knee, ruling him out of the three T20 Internationals against Ireland at Malahide (17, 19 and 21 September) and the subsequent white-ball trip to New Zealand in October.
Hampshire seamer Scott Currie, 24, has been added to the squad and is in line for a first England cap. The call-up arrives little more than a day after he appeared at T20 Finals Day, where Hampshire fell to Somerset.
Mahmood’s latest setback is frustrating, if not entirely surprising. A pair of stress fractures kept him out for close to two years, and the medical staff have been cautious about his workloads ever since. Even so, his recent returns were encouraging: nine wickets at 10.55 in the Caribbean last November, followed by a starring role in June’s 3-0 ODI sweep of West Indies. He also closed out Oval Invincibles’ third consecutive Men’s Hundred title, taking the final wicket against Trent Rockets.
Currie’s England chance comes via a slightly unusual route. He played three ODIs for Scotland last year, qualifying through his father, and impressed enough to keep both nations interested. Speaking on Friday, he stressed that the Scotland appearances were never meant to close the England door.
“I hadn’t wanted to keep turning down the chance to play international cricket “in the hope that maybe an England cap might come one day”,” he said. The right-armer added: “There’s plenty of experience to be had out there. I’ve obviously got [the possibility] that you can flip between the two, and if an England cap ever came then that would be a massive honour.”
He reflected warmly on those matches: “But certainly, the pride of representing Scotland in those three games that I did, taking the field with my brother [Brad], knowing what it means to my old man and his side of the family, is something that always puts a smile on my face.”
Currie remains in touch with Scottish cricket, even if another appearance feels unlikely in the short term. “Everyone’s favorite word at the moment is the schedule, but it’s tough with the way the schedule is to find those opportunities. Unfortunately, they didn’t qualify for the T20 World Cup coming this winter. But yeah, I do remain in contact with them.”
England, meanwhile, will travel to Ireland without several multi-format regulars who are managing workloads ahead of the Ashes later in the year. Left-hand batter Jacob Bethell captains a squad that blends recent T20 specialists with fringe all-format hopefuls. Their brief is straightforward: win the series, gather data, and avoid unnecessary injuries.
Currie, a tall seamer who tends to hit the pitch hard and bowls an effective slower ball at the death, should slot into a pace unit featuring Luke Wood, Brydon Carse and George Scrimshaw. Whether he plays all three matches may depend on how England juggle overs in Bethell’s first series as skipper.
As for Mahmood, the plan is for a tidy-up procedure, then rehab aimed at the New Year white-ball window. England remain optimistic; the bowler’s pace and swing with the new ball are valued assets when fit. For now, though, attention turns to Malahide and a squad keen to make impressions of their own.
