Sussex today reassured supporters that there is no chance they will lose both members of county cricket's most prolific double act.

The county are resigned to losing Rana Naved next month. But reports that Mushtaq Ahmed will be joining him on Pakistan's tour of England are wide of the mark, according to cricket manager Mark Robinson.

Mushtaq, 36, turned down a full-time role in Pakistan's coaching set-up earlier this year so he could fulfill the remaining two years of his Sussex contract.

Rana is a certain selection when Pakistan's 21-man squad is whittled down to 16 on June 9. And although Robinson says Mushtaq may be allowed to spend the occasional day with Pakistan it will only happen if it is of benefit to him and Sussex.

Robinson said: I'm not worried in the slightest about these stories. Mushtaq has a water-tight contract and will be with us for the rest of the season.

As every good coach should, Robinson is at pains to emphasise that Sussex's best start to a Championship campaign since 1937 is not just about Rana and Mushtaq.

Although their batting unit has yet to truly fire they have always scored enough runs to stay in contention while Jason Lewry, Robin Martin-Jenkins and Luke Wright have done their bit with the ball.

But the story of Sussex's unbeaten start has been very much about their two Pakistanis. How can it not be after they have shared 65 of the 90 Championship wickets so far, a staggering 72 per cent.

Mushtaq promised to make his best ever start to a season with Sussex. With 33 wickets including four five-fors and a ten-wicket match haul in the two-day win over Durham on Wednesday, he has been true to his word.

His next wicket will be his 300th in the Championship for Sussex, a phenomenal return in just over three years with the county.

At his current strike rate of a wicket every five overs, he will, fitness permitting, claim 100 wickets in a season for the second time.

That feat has not been achieved by a seam bowler since Andy Caddick did it for Somerset in 1998 but Rana would have probably done it had he been with Sussex for the rest of the season.

In 13 games since making his debut against Kent last July, he has taken 87 wickets at under 18 runs apiece. If he plays in three more matches he will have completed a full 'season' of 16 Championship games. Who would bet against him taking 13 more wickets before he leaves for the tour?

As a pair, they are Sussex's best since the days when another Pakistani - Imran Khan - and Garth Le Roux were in their pomp in the Eighties.

But it is just as important to recognise that they are in an environment which allows them to flourish. Mushtaq did a lot of the groundwork to get Rana to Hove in the first place and his compatriot admits he feels duty bound not to let him down. Their young families, both based in Hove, spend a lot of time with each other, they pray as well as play together and when Rana occasionally goes chasing wickets, as he sometimes does, it is Mushtaq bending his ear at mid on when Rana walks back to his mark.

At times this season both have bowled in pain. The skin at the top of Muhstaq's index finger is already starting to wear away, the price he has to pay for bowling over 17,000 deliveries in a 20-year career, while Rana might have struggled to play had there been a Championship match last week because of a sore heel.

Their last match together on Sussex soil, until next season at least, could be next week when the county take on Middlesex at Horsham.

When the teams last met they took 16 wickets between them and Rana scored a sensational career-best 139.

Catch them while you can.