Sussex coach Peter Moores believes Mushtaq Ahmed can make a big impact in this season's Championship.

Ahmed warmed up for Wednesday's opener at Lord's with a match haul of 11-49.

The leg-spinner is likely to encounter stiffer opposition than the students of Cardiff UCCE, who were thrashed by an innings and 280 runs inside two days at Hove on Saturday, when the county face Middlesex on Wednesday in their first division opener.

But Moores believes his performance sends out a 'strong message' to batsmen who may have thought at 32 that the Pakistani leg spinner's best days are behind him.

Mushtaq followed up his 6-20 on the first day with 5-29 on Saturday as Cardiff UCCE were dismissed for 133 after four Sussex batsmen had scored centuries in their mammoth 529-6 declared.

Moores said: "Mushtaq is a spinner of real quality as his record proves and if people think at 32 that he is past his best then he will be out to prove them wrong.

"This performance has sent out a strong message to the other teams in Division One."