Mushie On England And Spin
The irrepressible leg spinner played a key role in Sussex’s county success and has an established reputation in international cricket. Mushtaq Ahmed tells C365 about calls from the Pakistan Cricket Board, his philosophy of spin bowling and future aspirations.
While England were busy drawing the series against South Africa at the Oval, down the road at Hove, Sussex were busy ushering their first ever County Championship title closer.
While both sides claimed vital wins England got theirs on the back of a fine display from their quick bowlers and their batsmen – Sussex had the added bonus of a world class spinner in their side.
With his winning smile and unkempt black hair Sussex spinner Mushtaq Ahmed could easily be mistaken for an adult Harry Potter. With the Frizzell County Championship title now in the bag Sussex can give a big cheer to their match-winning hero who over the course of the season made muggles of an incredible 103.
But personal milestones aside Ahmed has shown that it is not only in Asia where spinners can take bag-loads of wickets and win matches. He has shown how conducive English tracks can be to genuine turners of the ball and he has made us wonder why has Ashley Giles had such a disappointing summer for England? And, why are there so few alternative options presenting themselves to the selectors? As it stands there was more spin being generated at Downing Street about the war with Iraq than there was by any England cricketer in the battle with South Africa!
As a former Pakistan Test campaigner and the leading wicket taker on the county circuit this summer there are few players better equipped to comment on one of the most glaring weaknesses in the make-up of the England side – the lack of a genuine wicket taking spinner.
“The attitude to spin bowling in England is all wrong,” stressed Ahmed, who last played for Pakistan against New Zealand in March 2001.
“Here spinners are used defensively and they are not seen as wicket takers. As such they are not encouraged to be aggressive.”
The effervescent Ahmed, who says he is currently bowling as well as he did when he was at his peak for Pakistan, goes on to add, "The fault is not with the bowlers, it lies with the captains and the coaches.
"In Asia we were brought up to attack. As spinners we were encouraged to go all out for wickets and we played accordingly.
"It didn’t matter if you were hit for many runs, if you took five wickets you had done your job.
Not surprisingly a brief look at this season’s leading wicket takers shows Mushie, as his team-mates call him, way out in front at the top of the list. The most wickets taken by a British spinner are credited to Glamorgan’s Robert Croft – with 55 sticks to his name he has taken 34 fewer wickets than Ahmed and played in two more matches.
"Young leg-spinners must get used to being hit because as long as they keep bowling leggie’s they are going to take wickets as well. It is inevitable that spinners are going to get hammered sometimes - but when things start turning and the ball is coming out right it is possible for a leggie to single-handedly win the match.
“Bowlers need to stick with it because fortunes can turn very quickly. You can give away 100 runs in ten overs and then hit back with five wickets for 20 runs. It is about sticking at it and not giving up. Three or four days of cricket with no results and then wrapping it up for your side, that’s what it’s all about.”
And while Mushie believes that the England selectors have got it right by sticking with Warwickshire’s Ashley Giles – who he maintains is the best tweaker available to England at the moment – he has it in the back of his mind to help improve the range of choices in the years to come.
“When I have finished playing I would really like to get involved as a coach,” he says as he takes time out from a net session to chat.
“I would love to come back to England and host spin clinics. For England to produce a truly great spinner the mentality here has to change and I won’t be shy to drum in the attacking instincts that I was taught from a young age.”
In the interim however he will be relaxing after the celebrations at Hove and hoping that he will receive a call from the Pakistan selectors – as he has certainly not given up hope of playing for his native country.
“I still want to play for Pakistan very much and I believe I am close to being recalled again,” he confided.
“Due to my contract with Sussex I was unavailable for national selection until the end of the season. But I had a call from the PCB just the other day asking me about my availability and that is a good thing. I really want to play for Pakistan again and I hope that I will be in the equation soon.”
But with South Africa having bailed on their scheduled tour to the subcontinent it may be a little while longer before we see the miniature magician back on the international stage again.
By: Anthony Pascoe
http://www.cricketline.com/Features/Guest_Speaker/story_10084.shtml
