Mushtaq Ahmed believes England need wicket-taking spinner to regain top Test rank

Sydney: Former Pakistan cricketer Mushtaq Ahmed believes that in order to regain top rankings in Test cricket, England needs a wicket-taking spinner in their squad.

Ahmed, who has worked as a consultant with the England team since 2008, said that the team's new cricket director Peter Moores is a brilliant coach and a good person, adding that he has played with him at Sussex for four years.

However, the former leg-spinner added that even Moores would find it difficult to turn around England's Test rankings because no team can expect to be number one in the long format of cricket or retain their top position for long without having a wicket-taking spinner, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.

Ahmed also said that the retirement of Graeme Swann had been a big loss to the team as he had been a wicket-taking spinner and with Monty Panesar he helped England win not only in India after some 29 years but also played a key role in Ashes success.

Meanwhile Ahmed has also informed Moores that he had applied for a coaching position with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and that he wants to give priority to his PCB job, the report added.