Mushtaq Ahmed

A bubbly, chubby legspinner with googlies aplenty, Mushtaq Ahmed is styled on his hero Abdul Qadir, whom he succeeded in the team. He is a matchwinner with a full house of legspin variations. At his best he is not far behind Shane Warne, but he does not get the in-drift and rip that makes Warne unique and he gets less bounce because of a lower arm. He is a compact though not especially competent batsman who fends too gingerly to hint at permanency at the crease. Mushtaq has also suffered the vagaries of the Pakistan system. But his enthusiasm remains undimmed, despite being out of the team since a poor run of form in 2000-01. Some of his most memorable performances have been away from home, in England and Australia, and he played a key role in propelling Imran's Tigers to World Cup glory, memorably snaring Graeme Hick with one of his googlies. In 2003 he became the first bowler in five years to take 100 wickets in the English season, a return which was instrumental in guiding Sussex to the first Championship title in their history,a feat he and they repeated in 2006 and the following season. However, he put his future with the county at risk by signing with the unsanctioned Indian Cricket League. Persistent knee trouble forced him to retire from first-class cricket towards the end of the 2008 season and he was quickly snapped up by the ECB as England's spin-bowling coach.
Cricinfo staff October 2008