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England's Mahmood explains no-ball that cost him maiden test wicket


England's Saqib Mahmood has taken two wickets in his test debut against West Indies, but it was the one that got away that he remembered most vividly.

Mahmood thought he had snared his first test scalp with a brilliant yorker which bowled Jermaine Blackwood on Friday, but the 25-year-old's celebration was cut short when the umpire called a no-ball at Kensington Oval in Barbados

The swing bowler said the extra effort he had put into the delivery had caused him to overstep the crease.

"I was fine the whole time on the front line and then just a bit of an effort ball trying to get that yorker in," he said on Saturday.

"I was pretty gutted at the time. Thought I'd let myself down, let the boys down, but I tried to get it out of my head, which was quite tough, tried to crack on."

It took the best part of 24 hours for Mahmood to finally break his duck when he had Jason Holder caught on Saturday when the all-rounder miscued an attempted hook.

This time Mahmood was more subdued in light of his previous experience.

"There wasn't a massive celebration from me. I was looking at the wicket to see where my foot landed and whether the umpire would say anything," he said.

"I guess it was just a feeling of relief more than anything after what happened last night."

Mahmood later dismissed tailender Veerasammy Permaul lbw and finished with 2-58 off 27 tidy overs.

Like his fellow bowlers, Mahmood was frustrated by West Indies captain and opener Kraigg Brathwaite, who was immovable until he finally made a mistake on the 489th ball he faced and was bowled by Jack Leach.

West Indies were bowled out for 411, while England were 40 without loss in their second innings at stumps, an overall lead of 136 runs with one day left.

"He played exceptionally well on that wicket," Mahmood said of Brathwaite.

"I just tried to stay disciplined throughout. If I wasn't taking wickets, I tried not to go for runs.

"Long couple of days in the dirt, my first red ball game since December. Glad to get off the field today."

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