Saqib Mahmood

I wasn't too bothered about watching batsmen when I was growing up.

In England, you don't really practise reverse-swing, and not everyone can do it.

You've seen the IPL and the Pakistani crowds, they're almost ridiculous. They're very loud, they love the game, the passion for the game out there is immense.

My family are England fans. I have lived in England all my life, my dad was born in England. My mum was born in Pakistan but they are England fans.

I remember when I first started to follow cricket, the two guys who I really wanted to watch were Shoaib Akhtar and Brett Lee. They were the quickest bowlers in the world at that time.

I remember a conversation with James Anderson a few years ago about my skills and that conversation is something I can still recall. He said no two bowlers are the same, the way I bowl my outswinger will be different to the way you bowl yours so bowl to your strengths, keep it simple and don't try to copy another bowler for the sake of it.

I think if a batter's got the better of you naturally in the back of your mind you can go slightly defensive.

I guess the fearless side is always taking the positive option, with ball or bat. If you feel like you can take someone down, you go for it.

When I was in the T20 squad, I was the only one short of experience, everyone else had over 100 T20 caps.

But Test cricket has always been right at the top of what I've wanted to do.

You want to be seen as one of the main guys, rather than just another guy in the XI.

Something I got from one of the England coaches was that if you want to be in the No. 1 team in the world, you have to show that you're one of the best in the world.