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Familiar story, new mindset for Ahmed

Leg-spinner again on the brink of Test selection as Australia prepare for West Indies tour match

Eighteen months ago, in the lead-up to the 2013-14 Ashes series, it appeared Fawad Ahmed's fairytale rise from Pakistani asylum seeker to Australian Test cricketer was just weeks away from being realised.

Having been granted Australian citizenship in June 2013, Ahmed impressed in five limited-overs internationals following the Ashes in the UK and speculation was rife that the leg-spinner would be a bolter for the first Test of the return bout against England in Brisbane.

Nathan Lyon was the incumbent spinner in the side at the time, but selectors had already shown a willingness to drop him twice that year – once in India and once in England.

Former Test captain Allan Border was one of several pundits to call for Ahmed's inclusion, and selectors indicated a call-up was on the cards when they deliberately avoided picking him for England's tour match against Australia A to prevent the tourists from getting a closer look at him.

And when he bagged figures of 6-68 in a Shield match against Western Australia less than a month out from the first Test, a Baggy Green appeared to be within reach.

But the pressure of a potential Test call-up, just three years after he had arrived in Australia to seek asylum, was too much for Ahmed to handle.

A week after his impressive haul against WA, Ahmed was punished by a NSW Blues side featuring David Warner, Michael Clarke and Steve Smith, conceding almost five runs an over and taking just the solitary wicket.

"That was the only game I bowled badly (in that season), against NSW," Ahmed told cricket.com.au in Antigua this week.

"Davey and ‘Pup’ (Clarke) and ‘Smudge’ (Smith), they really attacked me in that game and I took that pressure and I didn't bowl well in that game.

"If you look (at my performances) after that I bowled really well in my matches.

"But the thing is that was the time when the media and all over the country were saying that I was going to play the next Test match with Lyon or maybe alone as a frontline spinner.

"That was a big thing for me and I couldn't take that pressure."

Ahmed's performance against the Blues seemed to snuff out any chance he had of a Test debut that summer, as Lyon and the Australians cruised to an historic 5-0 clean sweep.

But it was a valuable experience for the now 33-year-old to have, particularly as he now finds himself in a similar situation heading into tonight’s practice match against a WICB President's XI in Antigua.

Conditions at Windsor Park in Dominica – venue for the first Test against the Windies starting on June 3 – have traditionally favoured the slower bowlers, meaning a dual spin attack of Lyon and Ahmed is a strong possibility for the opening match.

Image Id: ~/media/B5A7DF541C4A41B1B346C9E87B5FFAD1

Ahmed appears a strong chance to play the first Test // Getty Images

With a potential Test debut again just days away, Ahmed is adopting a more relaxed attitude to his cricket this week, a task no doubt made easier by the tranquil views of the Caribbean Sea from the Australian team's resort, situated on the south-west coast of the island.

It's an approach that served him well during the Bupa Sheffield Shield last season, when he led the competition with 48 wickets and took a record-breaking 8-89 in the first innings of Victoria's win in the final against Western Australia.

Ahmed says the support of now departed Bushrangers coach Greg Shipperd and first year captain Matthew Wade, as well as senior players like Cameron White and David Hussey, was critical in his ability to turn undoubted talent with ball in hand into regular bags of wickets.

And he hopes that ignoring the prospect of Test selection this week, like he did all summer, will provide the calm base from which he can perform strongly in Australia's only warm-up match ahead of the first Test.    

"I realised to (focus on) playing more for Victoria and to be grateful to be in that very strong side and to play all the games and to win more games for Victoria rather than thinking of playing for Australia," Ahmed said.

"I think that was the main reason I was really relaxed and I'm still taking that theory in my mind into this three-day game.

"Maybe if I'm playing, hopefully, in the Test matches as well, (I should) just forget about the selection and not take that pressure (on board).

"So that's the most important thing; to feel relaxed and enjoy the game."