TOM Kohler-Cadmore is backing his good mate Saqib Mahmood to shine in an England shirt and says the decision to look at some new faces during the ongoing tour of New Zealand has given him extra motivation to progress his own game.

The Yorkshire batsman is one of the host of young players on England’s radar having represented the Lions, something he hopes to do again this winter.

Ahead of next winter’s T20 World Cup in Australia and following this summer’s drawn Ashes series, the England hierarchy are looking at some new names in the five-match T20 series and the two-match Test series.

Mahmood, Tom Banton, Pat Brown, Zak Crawley, Matt Parkinson and Dom Sibley are all in line to debut across the next five weeks, starting with the first T20 tomorrow, which starts at 1am (UK time) in Christchurch.

“You’re always happy for your friends when they get called up, and for me it’s nice to see the hard work they’re putting in has been rewarded,” said 25-year-old Kohler-Cadmore. “They deserve it.

“For me, it’s a good thing to look back on and say, ‘Yeah, if I keep doing the right things and training, I won’t be that far away’.

“But you can’t get caught up in it. It’s not all about England all of the time. All that matters is what you’re doing out on the field. That does the talking.

“That’s what all the guys who have been selected have done so well this year.”

The Roses rivalry is obvious, but Kohler-Cadmore and Mahmood have struck up a strong friendship during their time together on Lions duty at home and abroad in recent years.

Mahmood claimed 57 wickets in 28 appearances across all formats for the Red Rose in 2019, including 28 wickets in the Royal London One-Day Cup. Nobody else took more.

The 22-year-old, who is in both the T20 and Test squads, dismissed Kohler-Cadmore in both Roses matches.

“Saq has got everything that England are looking for in a bowler,” said the Yorkshire star.

“You look at the quality he has as a bowler, the way he changes games in 50-over cricket and things like that. The skillset he has in red ball cricket is up there as well.

“He hasn’t played a great deal of first-class cricket, but England see something in him.

“Marcus Trescothick was a bit like that a good few years ago. He got put into the team quite quickly and nailed it straightaway.

“They’ve seen an X-factor in him - he can bowl quick - and they’ve got him in.

“If he doesn’t nail it straightaway, a bit like Jimmy Anderson didn’t - he got injured and stuff - he’ll have learnt about what he needs to do to go again.

“It’s a bit like throwing a youngster into first-class cricket. Sometimes it takes them a little bit of time to get used to it, but second time around they know what they need to be doing having got that experience.

“Conditions wise, New Zealand is as close to England as you can get, and I’m sure he will do well.”

New Zealand captain Kane Williamson, a popular overseas batsman at Headingley in recent years, will miss the T20 series with a hip injury.

So far, England have won one and lost one of their two warm-up matches against a New Zealand XI.