By Kashif Qamar BBC Sport Online

At 32 years of age, Pakistan's Mushtaq Ahmed must still be considered one of the finest leg-spinners in contemporary cricket.

But this summer he is plying his trade for Little Stoke, a club battling away in the PipeMaster North Staffordshire and South Cheshire Cricket League.

It's a long way from the dustbowls of Karachi and Lahore, where Pakistan's Test team are giving New Zealand a hiding, but Mushtaq takes a relaxed view of life.

"All this depends on your fate. I am playing here in England and some one is playing in the national side," he told BBC Sport Online.

Success from the early 90s

The player's Test debut in 1990 in Adelaide against Australia was not a big success as he got only one wicket in two innings.

However, two years later he was a key performer in the World Cup, which Pakistan won, beating England in the final.

For the next few years, he was an integral part of the team with some memorable performances to his credit.

Mushtaq is still a prolific performer in Pakistan's domestic cricket and he was one of the most successful spinners during the recent domestic season.

So how is it that such a talented player has no permanent place in the national team?

"I can only perform well, which I think I am already doing and the rest depends on the selectors," he said.

"You can only hope for the best once you have played your part.

"If you look at the start of my career, there was no logical place for me in the team but I performed and was included."

First, Saqlain Mushtaq replaced Mushtaq Ahmed as Pakistan's number one spinner.

Now, the introduction of another young leg spinner - Danish Kaneria - seems to have compounded the problem of plenty.

"Pakistan have no shortage of new and talented players, including spinners," Mushtaq said.

"Fortunately, Kaneria played in the beginning against Bangladesh and now against New Zealand, so he was quite successful.