Ajmal Shahzad: I'm ready for England Test debut against Bangladesh

There was so much talk about Ajmal Shahzad's unconventional batting technique today that it was possible to believe he could become the first England cricketer to make his Test debut on two grounds at once. The extent of his pre-delivery movement became so exaggerated that if he is picked against Bangladesh on Friday he could almost take guard at Headingley to play the ball at Old Trafford. Such habits have been known to end Test careers at a stroke – Kim Barnett had a similar lurch across his stumps with the bowler in his delivery stride and his four Tests for England more than 20 years ago came alongside much scoffing from the purists. Andy Flower, the England coach, is not so inflexible that he rails against a method that is working and Shahzad, in any case, can anticipate a little more licence on the grounds that he is a bowling all-rounder. In support of the player, Flower even referred to the oddity of Jim Furyk's golf swing, the ultimate proof that unusual methods can sometimes pay off. Shahzad has made a habit of impressive debuts. He took two wickets in his first over on his Twenty20 debut in Dubai last winter and one in his first over during his 50-overs debut in Bangladesh. He is England's best option at No8 since his Yorkshire team-mate Tim Bresnan succumbed to a stress fracture of the foot. If England do not give Shahzad a Test debut now, 1-0 up with one to play against the world's weakest Test nation and on the fastest square in the country, there is limited advantage in him being in the squad. He has been carrying drinks since early in the new year. They need to find out if he should be in the Ashes shake-up. "He has a slightly idiosyncratic technique with the bat but he feels that it works for him," Flower said. "He looks like he can bat a bit. He has had a little bit of success in the few opportunities he has had at first-class level and is an exciting cricketer. "He is quite an impressive bloke. He is very hungry to explore what he can achieve in this game and how far he can push himself, he has a great attitude to working hard, and he looks as though he has enough pace to beat good batsmen. But I think he is very raw and only time will tell whether he is good enough to make it at international level." Sajid Mahmood, in last week's Roses match, became the latest bowler to stop halfway down his run-up and put his hands on his hips in disbelief at Shahzad's guard, although as Mahmood is a bit of a mate there may have been some tomfoolery going on. "Saj stopped in his run-up and said, 'What is going on here?'" Shahzad revealed. "His captain, [Glen] Chapple, said, 'that's the way he bats.' Saj was thinking: 'Is he still doing this? I don't believe it.'" England tried to get Shahzad to stand still on the tour of Bangladesh, but to no avail. He is a hyperactive soul, always on the move, even at the crease. The coaching staff may revisit it at a later date because his technical assessment of why he does it does not really convince. "On flatter decks I can get away with standing still, but I'm from up north and you get green seamers," he said. "I have adapted my technique to that. I am going to stick with it even if it is not conventional and people give me a bit of stick. I'm very confident about my batting. "I used to take a centre guard but by the time I had finished you could see my middle and leg sticks. I didn't know that until I kept being bowled around my legs. Now I take guard outside leg as the bowler is running in and I land perfectly on middle stump." His coach at Yorkshire, Martyn Moxon, said: "Ideally you want him moving a bit less because the more you move the more things can go wrong. His timing has to be spot on. "For the time being, he has had some success. He bats No8 for us, but he could bat higher at most counties. To change his method is probably best left until the winter." Shahzad had a modest Roses match – "At least I got some overs under my belt, I was rusty like the rest of the England boys" – and knows that he missed a chance to bowl himself into contention. He remains infinitely polite about the possibility that Ryan Sidebottom may be selected ahead of him: "Ryan is tried and tested, I'm not." All the more reason for discovering how raw he remains.