England appoint Mushtaq as spin coach

By Martyn Herman

LONDON (Reuters) - Former Pakistan great Mushtaq Ahmed has been appointed by England as spin-bowling coach, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) said on Thursday.

The 38-year-old, who has enjoyed a long stint in England with Sussex, will work with the test and one-day squads and also assist in the ECB's player development programmes.

One of his main tasks will be to get the most out of Monty Panesar who has taken more than 100 test wickets since he burst on to the scene in 2006 but struggled in the recent series against South Africa.

"It's critical that we nurture and develop the next generation of England spin bowlers using the expertise and knowledge of former players such as Mushtaq," the ECB's managing director Hugh Morris said.

"Spin has been integral to the success of the world's best cricket teams and we are keen to ensure that there is a constant flow of spin-bowling talent into the England set-up."

The ECB said Mushtaq would sever his links with the unsanctioned Indian Cricket League (ICL) which he had been expected to play in after retiring from first class cricket.

During his career Mushtaq played 52 tests for Pakistan, taking 185 wickets. He also took 161 wickets in his 144 one-day internationals for his country.

In 2003 he took 100 wickets for Sussex to help the county win the championship for the first time, a feat he also achieved in 2006 when Sussex again won the title.

(Reporting by Martyn Herman; Editing by Alan Baldwin)