Pakistani cricketer (born 1970)
Mushtaq Ahmed
(
Urdu
:????? ???? ; born 28 June 1970) is a Pakistani cricket coach and former
cricketer
who currently acts as the
spin bowling
coach for the
Bangladesh national cricket team
.
[1]
A
leg break
googly
bowler, at his peak he was described as being one of the best three wrist-spinners in the world. In an international career that spanned from 1990 until 2003, he claimed 185 wickets in
Test cricket
and 161 in
One Day Internationals
. He was at his most prolific internationally between 1995 and 1998, but his most successful years were as a domestic player for
Sussex
in the early 2000s.
Mushtaq was part of the Pakistan team that won the
1992 Cricket World Cup
, and five years later, he was named as one of the
Wisden
Cricketers of the Year
. During his time with Sussex, he was the leading wicket-taker in the
County Championship
for five successive seasons, and helped the county win the competition in 2003, 2006, and 2007.
Playing career
[
edit
]
Early career
[
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]
Mushtaq Ahmed made his
first-class cricket
debut in January 1987, at the age of 16.
[2]
Playing for
Multan
, he claimed four wickets in the second innings of the match against
Sukkur
.
[3]
He claimed his maiden recorded
five-wicket haul
in the format the following season, playing for the Punjab Chief Minister's XI against the touring
England cricket team
.
[4]
Shortly thereafter, he competed in the
1988 Under-19 World Cup
, where he was the joint leading wicket-taker, claiming 19 wickets at an
average
of 16.21.
[5]
Pakistan reached the final of the tournament, in which they lost to Australia by five wickets.
[6]
Early the following season, Mushtaq took the first
ten-wicket haul
of his career, collecting six wickets in the first innings and eight in the second innings of a match against
Peshawar
.
[7]
He continued to impress that season, and took 52 wickets at an average of 22.84.
[8]
He continued to appear for Pakistan Under-19s, and took 26 wickets in their series against India under-19s, more than double any other Pakistani player.
[9]
His strong performances resulted in a call-up to the
Pakistan national cricket team
in March 1989.
[2]
International bowler
[
edit
]
He made his full international debut on 23 March 1989, playing a
One Day International
(ODI) against
Sri Lanka
. He took two wickets for 33 runs in the match, which Pakistan won by 30 runs.
[10]
He retained his place in the Pakistan side for the subsequent tri-series with
India
and the
West Indies
, and made his
Test cricket
debut in January 1990 against
Australia
at the
Adelaide Oval
.
[2]
His only wicket of the match was that of
Mark Taylor
.
[11]
A year later, took fourteen wickets in a match against Peshawar, collecting five in the first innings, followed by nine in the second, finishing the match with figures of 14 for 130.
[12]
In 1992, Mushtaq was part of the Pakistan team which won the Cricket World Cup. He was joint-second amongst bowlers by wickets taken, having claimed 16 during the tournament, trailing only his compatriot
Wasim Akram
.
[13]
He struggled to make a significant impact in Test cricket for a number of years after his debut: between 1990 and 1994, he only claimed ten or more wickets in a Test series on one occasion,
against England in 1992
. However, between November 1995 and March 1998, he took at least ten wickets in every Test series, and claimed ten five-wicket hauls.
[8]
The first occasion on which he claimed five wickets in an innings in Test cricket was the second Test against Australia in November 1995.
[14]
He repeated the feat in the third Test of that series, and then in the only Test of the subsequent series against New Zealand, in which he recorded his best figures in a Test match, seven for 56.
[15]
His only five-wicket haul in ODI cricket occurred in the fifth ODI of the "Sahara 'Friendship' Cup", a series played between India and Pakistan in
Toronto
, Canada. He took five wickets for 36 runs to help Pakistan win the match by 52 runs, and thus clinch the series 3?2.
[16]
During his most prolific years of Test cricket, he played his first spell of
county cricket
, appearing for
Somerset
between 1993 and 1998. In his book
Somerset County Cricket Club (100 Greats)
, Eddie Lawrence describes Mushtaq as "one of Somerset's best-ever "overseas" signings."
[17]
He played 62 first-class matches for the county, and claimed 289 wickets at an average of 26.32.
[17]
In 1997, he was named as one of the five
Wisden
Cricketers of the Year
, in which he was described as being a member of "a glittering triumvirate of wrist-spinners who adorn the modern game."
[18]
In the late 1990s, Mushtaq was one of a number of Pakistan cricketers who were suspected of
match-fixing
.
Saleem Pervez
alleged that he had given Mushtaq, along with
Salim Malik
, £100,000 to intentionally lose a match against Australia in September 1994.
[19]
After an inquiry, Mushtaq was fined £3,500, and banned from captaining Pakistan.
[20]
The judge presiding over the inquiry stated that: "There are sufficient grounds to cast strong doubt on Mushtaq Ahmed."
[19]
Later career
[
edit
]
After losing his place in the
Pakistan national cricket team
, Mushtaq played one season of county cricket for
Surrey
in 2002, having appeared in the
Liverpool and District Cricket Competition
for Northop Hall the previous year.
[2]
He failed to impress for Surrey, claiming eight wickets at an average of 38.12.
[21]
The following season, he joined
Sussex
, where he became the leading county wicket taker for five seasons in a row, playing a major role in Sussex's first ever County Championship title.
[22]
His form for the county prompted a recall to international duty, but it was short-lived: he played two Tests and one ODI before being dropped for the final time.
[2]
He helped Sussex to win the County Championship twice more before persistent knee injuries forced him to retire at the end of the 2008 season.
[23]
In 85 matches with Sussex, Mushtaq claimed 478 wickets at an average of 25.34.
[21]
Coaching career
[
edit
]
In late 2008, the
England and Wales Cricket Board
appointed Mushtaq as spin-bowling coach to the England cricket team until 2014 when lost his job in
Peter Moores
reshuffle. He joins batting coach
Graham Gooch
and
Richard Halsall
, the fielding coach in not retaining their roles. His major success as bowling was to install
Graeme Swann
as lead spin bowler for
England cricket team
[24]
He was bowling coach of
Surrey County Cricket Club
for brief period of time in 2012.
[25]
He was also on the verge of joining the
Delhi Daredevils
as a bowling coach for the
2013 IPL season
.
[26]
In 2014, Mushataq was named as
Pakistan cricket team
's bowling consultant under new coach
Waqar Younis
and his contract ended in May 2016.
[27]
[28]
In April 2016, Mushtaq was named as head coach of Pakistan's National Cricket Academy.
[29]
In November 2018 Ahmed was appointed as the assistant coach and spin consultant of
West Indies national cricket team
ahead of the
tour of Bangladesh
.
[30]
[31]
In April 2019 Mushtaq was honoured with the Outstanding Achievement in Sport award at
The Asian Awards
.
[32]
On 9 June 2020, the PCB appointed Mushtaq Ahmed as their spin-bowling coach for Pakistan's
tour to England
.
[33]
[34]
On 16 April, 2024,
Bangladesh Cricket Board
announced in a press release that Mushtaq Ahmed is appointed spin bowling coach for Bangladesh men's national cricket team; he will serve the team till the
2024 ICC Men's T20 World Cup
.
[1]
Autobiography
[
edit
]
He released his autobiography entitled
Twenty20 vision : my life and inspiration
in 2006, co-written with Andrew Sibson.
References
[
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]
External links
[
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]
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Men's Young Player of the Year
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Women's Player of the Year
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Women's Young Player of the Year
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